Fake faith healers continue to trick residents

Under the guise of offering treatment, pretend curers mint money by asking for repeat visits

PESHAWAR:

While hundreds of them offer their services across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) capital, they all have different methods of curing; some opt for insufflation while others rely on reading out prayers but all faith healers mint money under the guise of treatment.

One such faith healer based in Peshawar has stipulated direct contact with patients and only sees women on Fridays; while another insists that weekly visits are the only way to get completely cured. “I am diabetic and somebody told me about this healer in Darra Adam Khan who is very effective. I visited him a few times but nothing positive happened,” informed Muhammad Irshad Khan, a resident of Mattani, informed this correspondent.

According to Irshad, his niece who is also a diabetic, went to the healer as well but was only allowed on Fridays as the healer said that “he could not heal men and women at the same time.” Irshad had to pay a hefty sum of money for the visits and now regrets that it was money wasted. While some healers advertise through wall chalking, others have taken to social media to reach potential clients.

Qari Iftikhar, based in Badaber near Peshawar, uses the popular social networking platform Facebook to post videos and client reviews to attract attention towards his practice. “I am a prostate cancer patient and have visited Qari Iftikhar’s home three times. Even though I have not been cured, I feel a considerable difference,” wrote Rosh Khan, talking about his positive experience.

Qari Iftikhar, who also helps individuals looking for love or going through a divorce, came to the limelight when he was seen insufflating patients with Covid-19 at the Lady Reading Hospital in the provincial capital. “I still do not get how a fake faith healer was allowed on the premises of the hospital and then be in such close contact with patients,” said an irate doctor at the hospital, who talked to The Express Tribune on the condition of anonymity.

At least one faith healer is based in every village around the provincial capital and people have interesting stories on how the healers actually started practising.

Noor Alam, is a faith healer based on the outskirts of Peshawar, and the people who live in his locality say that he told them that he came and settled here because he saw it in a dream. Nauman Khan, who lives in the locality and declined to give his real name, said that once Alam got to the village people got impressed by his religious rituals.

“So much so that one family gave away their mud house to Alam to stay in,” informed Nauman, “after that Alam had a grip on the people of this village.” Now, Alam can charge whatever amount he wants to heal people and has a solution for every disease known to man.

“This is all absurd, Alam is just using gullible people for his own gain. He does not actually heal people,” accused Nauman while talking to The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2022.