Homage to Bari Imam: ‘We will observe Urs come what may’

Devotees of the saint say the event will take place this year with or without govt consent.

ISLAMABAD:

Bari Imam devotees seem undeterred by security threats and financial crunch and are determined to observe the Urs (death anniversary) of the most revered Sufi saint of the Potohar region this year, come what may.

“We will observe Bari Sarkar’s Urs with or without the government’s consent,” announced Habibullah Hashmi, the caretaker of the shrine flanked by other devotees, sitting on a prayer mate at the saint’s Bari Imam’s shrine at Nurpur Shahan, behind President’s House.

Hashmi said that by locking the doors of the shrine, the government has deprived the devotees of their right to observe their religious rituals. “People will come. Security or no security, permission or no permission, we will hold the festival and hold it in high spirits,” he said. Hashmi said that for the past four years, the government has not been allowing stopped them from to holding  the annual festival. “This has not been done to any other shrine in Pakistan, why Bari Imam?” he asked.

Mushtaq, another frustrated devotee from Kamra, questioned the government’s policy and efficiency, said, “How is this democracy when we cannot even openly practice our religious rituals? How will the government manage the whole country if it cannot even manage one shrine in the capital?”

The shrine’s location, adjacent to the Diplomatic Enclave and behind important government buildings, have rendered the Urs a security risk, after a bomb blast at the shrine in June 2005, killing 20 people and injuring 82 others.

Financial crunch has also delayed the completion of the renovation work at the shrine.

The festival is not only held to pay homage to the saint and promote peace and harmony, but also highlights the Potohar culture and attracts tens of thousands of people from all over the country.

Elevated security was quite evident. Two security gates — one each for men and women — were operational at the entrance. Officials on duty were inspecting people coming in and out. A high concrete structure around the old Bari Imam shrine covered much of its original look. The construction has been ongoing for almost four years now.

“There is dust on the dome of the old shrine and there is no cleaning. If the people cannot respect this place, they should not be here,” Mushtaq angrily said.

The shrine has been locked for years now and the area is cordoned off with wooden barriers. “No one can go inside for Salam and people just stand at a distance and look at the shrine,” said Mushtaq. The barriers are only moved when VIPs come to visit.

“I remember when Hilary Clinton came here. She went all the way inside, just because she is a VIP and other believers who travel for miles and hours are just asked to maintain their distance, which is not fair,” said Anwar Badshah one of the caretakers of the shrine administration.

Despite several requests to the CDA chairman, Islamabad chief commissioner, interior minister and the prime minister from the shrine administration, no response has been received on restarting the festival, he said.

“We will announce the schedule of the Urs next week if the government does not respond to our plea,” Hashmi said.

Financial crunch delays shrine renovation

According to Badshah, the construction is just an excuse to stop people from coming to the shrine.

Saadat Hussain Shah, a regular visitor to the shrine, said that he has been visiting the whole year round and construction has been on hiatus most of the time. The only time they start working is a few months before the Urs.

Project Manager Mukhtar Ahmed Jaffery said the project would be completed before the end of this year. He said that there were funding issues and the contract was handed from one party to another, causing construction delays. He said that because the project is within the red zone, security is always an issue.

Jaffery said that CDA has promised to give Rs4 million for the project but backed off after a while. The total cost of the project is Rs255 million, out of which Rs150 million have released, informed Jaffery.

“On 30th November last year, Interior Minister Rehman Malik had assured that the Urs will take place,”  Badshah said.

“They give us reasons and say that it’s a security threat and we are in the way of presidency and the parliament whereas the fact remains that Bari Imam has been there for 400 years and it came here even before the city itself. They have come in our way and they should be moved elsewhere” he said.

In 2010 an application was submitted to the deputy commissioner. This year on March 28, another application was submitted to chairman and the interior ministry but nothing came of it. Hashmi has said that if the government does not lift the ban, the believers will all unite and hold a successful Urs.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2012.