DADU: The three-day 774th Urs of the great Sufi saint Lal Shahbaz Qalandar will commence on Saturday (Feb 7) at his shrine in Sehwan Sharif.

According to the officials concerned, all preparations to facilitate several hundred thousand devotees and other visitors in their journey and participation in rituals, programmes and Dhamal, have been completed.

Sehwan wears a festive look with devotees, chanting ‘Mast Qalandar’ slogans, started arriving in big numbers. Roads and streets leading to the shrine have been decorated with colourful flags and buntings while the shrine and its surrounding areas have been illuminated.

Stalls of sweets, toys, ajraks, bangles and edibles have been set up for visitors whereas slides, circus etc have been brought to the open area around the shrine to entertain children.

Foolproof security arrangements have been put in place, officials said, pointing out that more than 5,000 police and 300 Rangers personnel would be deployed to ensure peaceful holding of the festival. Over 150 CCTV cameras have been installed inside the shrine and more than 250 outside it. The central control room has been established to monitor the situation.

On the first day (Saturday), the inaugural dhamal will be held. A folk wisdom gathering called Sugharan Ji Kachehri will follow. A literary conference will be held on the second day. A musical evening, Malakhro (traditional wrestling) and the distribution of Shahbaz Awards are scheduled for the third and last day.

Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Babar Saleem Khan Swati visited the shrine on Thursday and paid homage to the great Sufi saint.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026