A recent earthquake deepened cracks in the mosque. — Dawn
A recent earthquake deepened cracks in the mosque. — Dawn

PESHAWAR: The historic white mosque of the renowned spiritual figure, Hazrat Syed Ghawas Ali Tirmizi alias Pir Baba, had developed some minor but visible cracks in its two massive minarets following a devastating earthquake on October 8, 2005.

The experts at that time had predicted that if the cracks were not repaired in time, another earthquake of high intensity might widen those and the damaged minarets might fall on worshippers in the mosque. The shrine of Pir Baba is the most frequented spot and the number of visitors goes up manifold in the summer season as devotees throng it from far and wide in even greater number.

“Around 200 to 400 worshippers daily show up in the main prayer hall of the mosque while about 1,500 to 2,000 devotees also visit the shrine of Pir Baba on weekends. The cracks could result into collapse of the damaged minarets and could cause huge loss of human lives,” said Rizwan Ali, a local resident.


Locals fear collapse of minarets can cause huge loss to human lives


Prediction of the experts partially came true in the second week of April, 2016 when earthquake widened and further deepened the cracks and rendered the 72 feet high and 54 feet deep minarets of the white mosque more dangerous.

According to a scientific study conducted by a team of students of a private university in Peshawar, the Pir Baba mosque and its courtyard covered eight kanals where there was a space for around 3,500 worshippers both in the prayer hall and courtyard.

Despite being a historic and a heritage asset, the white mosque of Pir Baba is neither on the heritage list of the archaeology department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa nor is it registered with the provincial Auqaf department. The Pir Baba complex comprises the shrine of Pir Baba, shrine of Syed Painda Shah alias Charai Baba, the white mosque, seminary, lungarkhana, water pond for ablution, courtyard and shops adjacent to the main gate of the complex.

The affairs of the Pir Baba complex are being run by the Buner district administration in collaboration with a local committee. According to locals, work on the mosque was launched in 1938 by Charai Baba, a staunch devotee and descendant of Pir Baba. He went to various cities to collect donations for the construction of the mosque. Two minarets of the mosque, several feet deep, were erected and the construction was finally completed in 1965.

“Built in lime and clay, the structure reflects the Mughal architecture with beautiful mosaic and flower patterns all over the roof and inside walls. The seminary can accommodate around 200 students along with six teachers in its 20 rooms. About 12 volunteers take care of the Pir Baba complex,” said Usman Khan, another local resident.

Hidayatur Rahman, who leads the study team, told this scribe that his team had conducted the first ever scientific study of the historic Pir Baba mosque and found that it was in a dilapidated condition and needed urgent attention of the authorities. “The original height of the minarets was more than today’s one. The ruler of Swat State during its formal inauguration had lowered height of the minarets to reduce danger of its collapse in case of earthquake, the cracks have spread to other parts of the mosque too,” he said.

Makhdmoom Syed Hussain Shah Tirmizi, successor and chief of the Pir Baba Masjid committee, said he had brought the issue into the notice of the district administration. He said condition of the minarets was so threatening that worshippers did not prefer to offer prayers near it.

A senior official in the district administration of Buner, when contacted, said that they did not have any special funds for the Pir Baba complex. However, he said that his office could provide only Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 for necessary wear and tear.

“We have sent a letter to the provincial government in this regard as this is a huge project requiring both hefty amount and expertise. They will decide to either dismantle and reconstruct or repair the damaged parts of the mosque,” said the official.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2016

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