KASUR: The three-day celebrations of the 261st urs of Punjabi Sufi poet Baba Bulleh Shah will begin here on Aug 26.

In this connection, the district administration has announced a local holiday on Aug 27, issuing a notification to this effect on Sunday.

Religious affairs committee is responsible for making arrangements for the Urs, including free meals for the devotees (Langer) and holding gatherings of recitation of Naat and Punjabi Sufi poetry during the three-day event.

According to the committee head Haji Muhammad Safdar, arrangements for provision of free food and shelter to the devotes have been completed.

The district police has also claimed to have make fool-proof security arrangements for the Urs.

Meanwhile, the district administration has banned recreational activities during the Urs, including swings, rides, magic shows etc over security concerns.

Teams of Rescue 1122, civil defense, bomb disposal squad and health department have also been ordered by the district administration to remain alert during the three-day celebrations which are attended by devotees from across the country.

BODIES RETRIEVED: Rescue 1122 divers on Sunday, retrieved the bodies of two boys who had allegedly drowned in the BRB Canal on Saturday.

Local police handed over the bodies to the bereaved families after completing legal formalities.

According to police, Babar and his friend Asif had drowned in the canal while they were swimming near Raja Jang bridge on Raiwind Road despite locals efforts to save them.

Later, Rescue 1122 divers launched an operation to recover the bodies that was abandoned in the night.

On Sunday, the divers resumed the search and retrieved the bodies from the canal.

Both the boys were residents of Chak 65, Kot Radha Kishan.

RALLY: Scores of traders, lawyers and people from other walks of life on Sunday took out a rally against the exhibition of blasphemous sketches in Holland.

The rally was led by Rana Mumtaz Khan, president of Pattoki Anjuman-i-Tajran.

On the occasion, various speakers dubbed the exhibition a shameful act and an abuse of the ‘freedom of expression’. They said that the show would hurt the religious feelings of the Muslims world over.

They called for boycott of the products made in Holland to pressurise its government for taking measure to check the activity.

The speakers also demanded severing of Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with Holland.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2018