Bibian Pak Daman: Lax security irks urs visitors

Flag hoisting, mehfil-i-naat highlights of second day.

LAHORE:

Visitors at the annual urs of Bibian Pak Daman complained on Wednesday about the carefree attitude of the police contingents deployed at the shrine.

Some said the policemen spent their day sitting under the shades amongst themselves.

They only became alert when senior officials visited to monitor the security arrangements, they said.

Many pilgrims complained about careless checking despite clear instructions from both the police and the Auqaf Department high-ups for frisking the visitors.

The shrine management said there were more visitors on the second day andhoped that the numbers would increase further on the last day (today). “Although the number of pilgrims is not as great as the previous years, it is higher than what was expected,” a worker at the shrine said. The number of pilgrims increased in the second half of the day around sunset, he said.

Ahmad Raza, an outstation visitor, said he had come from a distant place to visit the shrine for a few hours. He and some other outstation visitors said had they known it was open all day they would have made arrangements accordingly.

Mehfil-i-naat, arranged by the management was the most important event of the second day. Most pilgrims just sat around the premises reciting the Holy Quran and busied themselves with tasbeeh (beads).

A flag hoisting ceremony was also held by majawars, the shrine caretakers.

Langar food was offered to pilgrims by the management and some devotees. Some of the pilgrims were also seen offering a drink of water to visitors at the entrances. Zaigham Alim, a regular visitor, said that serving other visitors at the shrine was a ‘big honour.’

“In doing so, I pay a tribute to those resting in the shrine,” he said. He said shrines played an important role in spreading peace.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12^th, 2011.