Pir Jo Goth burial: Pir Pagara VII laid to rest

Hundreds of thousands of Hurs attend grand funeral.

SUKKUR: The chief of Hur Jamaat and head of Pakistan Muslim League-Functional, Syed Shah Mardan Shah, popularly known as Pir Pagara, was laid to rest here on Thursday amid moving scenes marked by cries and moaning of thousands of mourners.

Thousands of Hurs from all over Pakistan had started gathering at Pir jo Goth from Tuesday and spent almost 48 hours preparing for the last rituals and to get a last glimpse of their spiritual mentor and guide.

The body of Pir Pagara, who had died at Wellington Hospital in London on Tuesday night, was brought to Karachi on Thursday morning. The body was taken to Sukkur on a C-130 plane, but the plane landed at Shahbaz Airbase Jacobabad due to bad weather. The body then was brought to Pir jo Goth by helicopter.

Pir of Jhang, Sharif Syed Siraj Ahmed Shah, led the funeral prayers which were attended by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and other dignitaries and officials.

Most of the Hurs had come from Tharparkar, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, Khipro, Mithi, Chacharo, Choondko and Nara.

All the Hur followers were seen walking barefoot in the streets and lanes. When asked why they were walking barefoot, they asked how they could walk with shoes on the streets where their Murshid (spiritual guide) used to walk.

A large number of women were also there to pay homage to Pir Pagara. One of them, Mumtaz Khatoon, was crying badly. She told The Express Tribune that the Khalifas didn’t allow women to get a last glimpse of their pir. “I haven’t seen him since last year,” she said sobbing. “Please ask them to let me see my pir.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2012.