MURREE: The Auqaf Department, Rawalpindi finally took control of a famous shrine of Murree after almost 45 years.

The shrine of Dada Suraj Malik, the great Sufi saint and ancestral head of Abbasi tribe, is located at Potha Sharif.

In 1968, the shrine was under the control of Auqaf Department but in 1971 the local influential people illegally took its possession, Mirza Zahid, zonal administrator Auqaf Rawalpindi told this correspondent.

The occupants of the shrine filed a petition with the Civil Court Murree which was dismissed in 2013 but the occupants filed another case with some other names. Mirza Zahid said as per high court decision Auqaf matters did not fall in civil court jurisdiction.

Still a petition of the occupants is in civil court but Auqaf department has taken over the control.

The Abbasis have been requesting the Auqaf department to take the control of the shrine.

In 2001, the Army Monitoring Cell also asked the Auqaf department to take over the control of the Shrine to avoid any act of terrorism in the premises of shrine.

People of the area were hopeful that the change would benefit a large number of pilgrims and visitors.

They appealed to the leadership of different political parties and tehsil representatives not to support ‘Qabza mafia’.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2018