KARACHI, Nov 8: Sindh Home Minister Rauf Siddiqui on Tuesday announced the launch of province-wide action against fake spiritual healers and magicians. He appealed to the victims of these so-called ‘Amils, Kamils and Jadoogars’ to come forward and register their complaints against them at police stations and assured that the government would fully help them. He said that operation against them would be carried out under the supervision of DIG Special Branch Wajid Durrani.
Addressing a crowded press conference along with Adviser Information Salahuddin Hyder and Inspector General of Police Asad Jehangir at his office, the home minister said that this matter would also be taken up before the cabinet for undertaking legislative steps and till then the governor and chief minister would be approached for issuance of an ordinance to deal with the issue.
In the first instance, he pointed out that wall-chalking by these fake spiritual healers and magicians would be removed throughout the province for which instructions had been issued to all the SHOs.
He appealed to newspapers to stop publishing their advertisements while printing presses told not to print their pamphlets to block their way of enticing the simple and innocent people.
Rauf Siddiqui said that majority of people because of superstitions and weak beliefs tried to find the solution of their problems and tensions at the dens of fake spiritual healers and magicians.
Referring to social repercussion of this menace, he regretted that even the educated people got trapped and put their own honour and chastity on stake. Many committed suicide after losing everything while many avoided exposing their satanic deeds due to social behaviours and apathy.
The home minister said that the campaign against these looters would not succeed without the cooperation of people. He urged people to identify them and inform the police wherever they found such fake healers.
He said these fake Amils, Kamils and magicians who posed themselves as experts of astrology and called themselves as professors, were fleecing and looting the innocent people, especially the women. Majority of these faith healers were illiterate but very cunning, he said, adding that they give amulet and rings to people to help solve their problems and make them pay heavily.
He said, “The dens of these fake faith healers present a highly mysterious atmosphere. Generally they maintain darkness in the room with a lot of books around. They do have women in their gangs and at certain dens visiting women, especially the issueless, are enticed to life of immorality besides extracting cash and gold from them.”
Rauf Siddiqi said that a large number of these faith healers and fortune tellers belonged to the same tribe.
In Lea Market, he said, a fake faith healer had committed assault on some women and was arrested. However, in such cases collection of evidence became difficult without the cooperation of victims, he added.
According to the figures confirmed so far, the minister said that there were 91 fake faith healers and magicians in Sindh, including 44 in Karachi, 31 in Hyderabad and 16 in Sukkur. As per an estimate, he said, around 492 were involved in this heinous business.—APP
