Annual urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi starts amid tightened security

Sindh government deploys more than 1,000 Rangers and police personnel in the area.

KARACHI: Security at Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s mazaar remained a primary concern for the Sindh government as people started gathering at the shrine on Saturday to mark the beginning of the three-day long urs of the Sufi saint.

After the attack on the shrine on October 7, special attention is being paid to the security of the shrine. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad reviewed the security arrangements at the shrine immediately after paying his respects to the saint.

The Sindh government has deployed more than 1,000 Rangers and police personnel in the area. Law enforcers have been deployed on all the streets leading to Abdullah Shah Ghazi’s mazaar while no vehicle is allowed to stop outside the shrine.

Moreover, 18 CCTV cameras have been installed at the entrance and exit gates of the shrine while anyone who wishes to enter the compound must first pass through a walkthrough gate.

Apart from a heavy contingency of law enforcers, private guards have also been placed on duty at three spots within the compound to search the people.

Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees of the Sufi saint gathered at the shrine on Saturday after the governor inaugurated the 1,280th urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi. Among them was a man named Shaikh Saleem, who had come to Karachi from Lahore with his wife especially to take part in the celebrations.

“I bring sweets which I distribute among other devotees at the urs. I cannot describe the contentment I feel,” said Saleem.

Officials of the Sindh Auqaf department have made special arrangements for people visiting the shrine during the urs. Apart from setting up a free medical camp, they have also made arrangements for the distribution of free food among the devotees.

“I come here at every urs and nauchandi (new moon). Whenever I come here, I feel content,” said Salahuddin.

Ahmed Khan Zardari, who hails from Nawabshah, has been working at the shrine for 21 years as its caretaker. He believes that the number of people who visit the shrine is an indication of the Sufi saint’s “miracle”.

“It is Baba’s miracle and love that we see,” said Zardari.

According to the devotees, the teachings of “religious elders” such as Ghazi also “provides solutions to problems such as the ones that are currently plaguing the country”.

According to Syed Rehmat, “The religious elders left back true teachings, but we have forgotten them amid our worldly affairs.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2010.