HYDERABAD: All arrangements have been finalised for the peaceful and efficient holding of the 766th Urs of great Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar at his shrine in Sehwan from Saturday to Monday.
A local holiday has been announced for May 7 in Jamshoro district.
The Urs committee headed by Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Fariduddin Mustafa reviewed the arrangements, especially provision of drinking water as well as showering at certain places amid the Met department’s forecast of severe heatwave persisting during the Urs days.
The district administration has established 40 emergency response centres and put in place mobile ambulances with essential medicines. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and walk-through gates have been installed to ensure foolproof security at and around the shrine.
The administration has banned bathing in the irrigation channels under Section 144 of the CrPC to avoid any unpleasant incident.
Massive security blanket
Sehwan Sharif remains under massive security blanket ahead of the Urs. The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police is keeping a check on elements linked with the militant Islamic State group, also known as Daesh, and certain terrorist outfits based in Balochistan. Such surveillance is continuing in the backdrop of the recent killing of Shia Hazara community members in Quetta.
Devotees have started converging on the shrine.
This is going to be Qalandar’s second Urs after a deadly suicide bombing of Feb 16, 2017 that had left close to 100 men, women and children dead during a weekly routine dhamal (mystic dance).
Additional Inspector General of the CTD Dr Sanaullah Abbasi visited Sehwan on Friday. He has also visited Qambar-Shahdadkot district, which is connected with Balochistan’s Mastung district.
“I think things are under control in Sindh as far as activities of banned outfits’ activists linked with Daesh are concerned. But we don’t rule out the fact that elements within Sindh may try to regroup again,” he told Dawn over phone after his visits. He said that another character, Hafeez Brohi, who was involved in some other suicide bombings in upper Sindh, had used this route — Mastung-Qambar-Shahdadkot-Jacobabad.
Strict security has been put in place by police and other law-enforcement agencies. Close to 4,500 police personnel have been deployed in Sehwan Sharif to ensure holding of the Urs.
“Elements linked with Daesh in Sindh are still at nascent stage and they are developing their connections with their Balochistan-based counterparts. The Sindh police over the last couple of years have dealt a severe blow to these outfits’ activists who had joined Daesh,” said AIG Abbasi.
The Sindh police have recommended the trial of Qalandar shrine blast case by a military court. The suicide bomber was identified as Barar Brohi. CTD investigations claimed that Tanvir, Imran and Mustafa Mazari alias doctor provided suicide jackets to Nadir, Safiullah and Barar. On February 16, 2017, Safiullah dropped Barar Brohi near Jahaz Chowk in Sehwan and the latter headed for the shrine to blow himself up, the probe further claimed.
The AIG clarified that there was no specific threat to this year’s Urs but surveillance was under way to check terrorists.
According to DIG CTD Sindh, Saqib Ismail Memon, ‘discreet’ deployment of CTD staff was being made in Sehwan as well.
Our Dadu Correspondent adds: Sindh Minister for Auqaf Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani on Friday reviewed arrangements for the Urs and later speaking to the media he expressed his disappointment over failure of the power utility concerned to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply to the shrine and its adjacent areas.
“This is a mega event in which devotees and other people from all nooks and corner of the country, as well as abroad, are expected to be here during the Urs. All departments and civic agencies, including Hesco (Hyderabad Electric Supply Company) are supposed to make suitable arrangements to avoid any trouble to the thousands of visitors to the shrine during the next three days,” he said, and regretted that power outages had increased in the entire town instead of being stopped.
Mr Jilani said that such a situation might only add to the miseries of shrine visitors amid the persisting harsh weather conditions.
He noted that between 1.5 and 1.8 million people would be here during the three days of Urs.
He said that heatstroke centres had been set up in different parts of Sehwan to provide relief to visitors.
He said the Urs would be inaugurated by Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani and Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah. Governor Muhammad Zubair would not be able to participate in Urs programme, he said.
Published in Dawn, May 5th, 2018
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