Devotion: Man rescued from grave

GUJRAT: A 45-year-old man was rescued from a grave he had consented to be buried in in Darya village on Monday. A Rescue 1122 official said Muhammad Afzal had gone to the graveyard at around 6pm on Sunday evening on the directions of a pir in Karachi. He said the pir had asked him to observe chilla (meditation) in a grave.  He said Afzal beat drums and buried himself in the ground, leaving some room to breathe. He said a few hours later, he asked for cigarettes and a mobile phone to take instructions from his pir. He said later, people in the area called police, who dug him out with Rescue 1122. He said the man had remained in the 17 hours. He said Kanjah police had arrested him, his father Ghulam Hussain and a friend Munir Ahmad.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2015.