KHAIRPUR: Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah inaugurated the three-day 195th Urs of great Sufi saint Sachal Sarmast by laying a wreath on his grave at the Daraza Sharif shrine on Monday. He also performed the ground-breaking of several schemes pertaining to the rehabilitation and extension of the shrine for which an amount of Rs77.65 million has been allocated.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony at Sama Hall within the shrine, the chief minister said Shah Abdul Latif Bihtai and Sachal Sarmast were the great Sufi saints whose teachings in their mystic practices and poetic works were being followed by millions of people around the world.

Sarmast was a multilingual poet who preached peace, love, brotherhood and harmony through his poetry, he said, adding that Shah Bhitai also recognised his depth and qualities.

Mysticism purifies the soul by eradicating hatred and extremism and the great saints mystic poetry works in that direction, according to him.

Mr Shah recalled that it was he who along with late Hadi Bukhsh Larik had initiated the Sachal Sarmast Urs celebrations and since then the event had regularly been held every year. Followers of Sarmast in other parts of the world also commemorate the occasion and many of them travel to Daraza Sharif to join in the celebrations.

The chief minister saluted the devotees of the saint observing that they had religiously been attending the Urs every year without fail.

Speaking at the ceremony, Daraza Sharif shrine custodian Pir Abdul Haq-III highlighted the teachings of Sachal Sarmast and shed light on his mystic poetry. He stressed the need for propagating the message of love, peace and tolerance preached by the saint. He called for establishing a library, a school and a guests room as well as essentially needed development works at the shrine and Daraza Sharif town.

Adviser to the CM on Auqaf and Religious Affairs Senator Dr Abdul Qayyum Soomro, Sukkur Commissioner Abbas Baloch, Khairpur Deputy Commissioner Fayaz Ahmed Jatoi, who also heads the Sachal Yadgar Committee (SYC) and other senior provincial and district administration officials were present.

The SYC chairman presented a Sachal Award to the CM as a memento. The CM presented a Sachal Award to Pir Abdul Haq-III in recognition of his contribution towards the propagation of the saint’s teachings.

The CM also gave away Sachal awards in different categories to Sachal Chair chairman Ayaz Gul, Adal Soomro and late Agha Saleem (life time achievement), Zeb Nizamani (best writer), Abdul Ghaffar Tabassum (best poet), Akhtar Dargahi (best Sufi poet), Jinsar Samo (best Singer), Ayaz Faqeer Khokhar (best sufi singer), Mohammad Khan Phul (best Malh pahelwan), Malhaar Khan (best sughaar) and Mohammad Bux and Saeed Mangi (best worker). Speaking to the media and other people after performing the ground-breaking of development schemes, the chief minister said that governments in the past did not utilise the provincial resources properly and neglected shrines of saints.

However, he added, the PPP government was paying full attention to shrines and facilities for devotees and visitors.

He said his government was implementing provisions of the Constitution envisaging fundamental rights of citizens. The Constitution, he said, provided a job opportunity for every citizen as per his qualification and eligibility. “The PPP government has already provided jobs to more than 300,000 eligible citizens and created another 50,000 jobs in the next financial year’s budget.

He said more attention was being paid to the education and health sectors, adding that Rs1.5 billion had been earmarked for curbing hepatitis; a burns ward was being established at the Khairpur Civil Hospital which would be made functional within six months; and nine universities had been established in the province while another four were planned to be established.

Published in Dawn, June 21th, 2016