A man died and 10 others were injured during a stampede at the shrine of Baba Fareed Ganj Shakar early on Friday morning.
The stampede broke out when the Bahishti Darwaaza (door to heaven) was opened during the 772 urs of Baba Fareed Ganj Shakar.
Masood Chishti, the caretaker of the shrine, opened the door.
Police said 40-year-old Liaqat Ali had come from Arifwala for the urs.
They said he fainted during the stampede and was evacuated by Rescue 1122.
They said 10 others were also injured.
Chishiti told The Express Tribune that nearly 200,000 people walked through the door on the first night of its opening.
He said according to popular belief, one could secure a place in heaven if they walked through the door.
He said according to legend, one’s hardships ceased after they walked through the door.
Paechay, colourful threads, were distributed among visitors near the shrine, he said
Hakeem Abdul Aleem, from Ontario, Canada, told The Express Tribune that he had travelled to Pakpattan for the urs.
He said the arrangements made for the opening of the urs were poor.
He said the first two days had been reserved for successors of popular sufis. He said two more days had been reserved for important political figures and bureaucrats.
Aleem was among the 300 pilgrims who protested against VIP culture and protocol for politicians.
Ahmad Ali, who had come from Fort Abbas, said he doubted that he would be able to walk through the door because of the large number of VIP personalities visiting the shrine during the urs.
Pakpattan DPO Shah Nawaz Sandhela told The Express Tribune that the arrangements for the urs had improved last year.
“We learned from the mistakes of last year and tried to take into account everything that could go wrong,” he said.
He said those who had been injured in the stampede had received minor wounds.
“Last year 100 people were injured in the stampede,” he said. “This year we were successful in containing the number of injuries.”
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2014.
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