HYDERABAD: The provincial government heaved a sigh of relief for obvious reasons as the three-day celebrations of the 771st urs of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar concluded peacefully in Sehwan town on Monday.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah told journalists after attending the closing ceremony of the urs that he was satisfied with the arrangements made for the annual mega event and the fact the proceedings and all functions concluded peacefully — amid danger of terrorism as the country was recently rocked by subversive activities.

He said the Sindh government had taken strict measures after heavy rain and flood and provided relief to people. Now flood-hit people would be provided financial assistance in a transparent manner, he said.

He said that all canals and drainage works destroyed in last year’s deluge would be rehabilitated. The Sindh government had focused on wheat cultivation after flood and as a result Sindh would now have more this year than the last year. Farmers having less than 12.5 acres had started getting subsidy, he said.

About the census, he said the Sindh government had informed the federal government about flaws in the process of digital census, especially use of electronic devices. The government had raised the point before the federation that enumerators should hand over a copy of the form to the household concerned, he said.

He said that census was more important than general election and hence it should be fixed first. Electronic devices did not show location of many areas, he said.

Shah said that immigrants residing in Sindh should be counted so that everyone knew their exact number.

He expressed grief over the death of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf worker and said that apparently two different viewpoints of police and PTI had come to the fore. Imran Khan government had signed agreement with IMF but afterwards it took U-turn on the deal, which badly affected ongoing talks with the fund, he said.

He said that it was the reason that IMF was not attaching tougher conditionalities with the bailout package. Imran Khan violated the IMF agreement when he realised his government’s days were numbered, he claimed.

About Toshakhana list, he said all the beneficiaries of gifts did not sell them in market like Imran Khan. A procedure had been laid down for Toshankhana gifts and there was no harm in buying the gifts after following the procedure, he said.

Jamshoro DC Fariduddin Mustafa presented a memento to the chief minister, who also visited a medical camp set up by Pakistan Peoples Party and laid wreath on the grave of Qalandar Lal Shahbaz.

Literary conference

Speakers at a literary conference held at Shahbaz auditorium on Sunday night as part of the Qalandar urs celebrations stressed the need for authentic research on the life of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar as found in Persian books.

Prof Dr Makhmoor Bukhari said that according to a reference found in history Ibne Batuta, famous Arab traveler cum explorer, had visited Sehwan in 1325 where he had met a 143-­year-old man by the name of Baghdadi.

Dr Sakina Samoo said that spiritual personalities of Syed lineage had migrated from their native areas and settled in Sindh in post-Karbala period. The saints had the only goal of winning favour of God. Other than this everything was immaterial to them, she said.

Khair Mohammad Buriro Sehwani said that Qalandar who descended from Imam Zainul Abideen received knowledge and spiritual guidance from saintly figures of his times.

A.B. Lashari and Anwar Saghar Kandhro said that Qalandar’s poetry was equal to that of Sheikh Sadi and Amir Khusro but it needed more research. Available resource material was too scant to prove the point, they said.

Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Ameer Ali Khan, Taj Mastani, Shaman Ali Mirali, Wahid Lash­ari and others presented songs.

Published in Dawn, March 14th, 2023