46 devotees faint after ‘toxic’ Kheer intake in Lahore

Published March 24, 2026
A file photo of hospital beds.— Dawn/File
A file photo of hospital beds.— Dawn/File

LAHORE: At least 46 devotees, including women and children, fainted after consuming Kheer at Shah Sarwar Kot shrine in Multan on Monday.

According to Rescue 1122, the affected individuals were part of a group travelling from Faisalabad when they suddenly developed severe abdominal pain and vomiting shortly after eating the Kheer.

Rescue officials said the control room received the alert and immediately dispatched emergency teams to the scene. Four ambulances reached the site and initiated relief operations, providing first aid to the victims before shifting them to hospitals. A number of patients were transported to Nishtar Hospital-II as well as the District Headquarters Hospital Muzaffargarh.

The rescuers and doctors at the hospitals confirmed that all affected individuals are now stable.

The authorities investigated and said that the devotees were staying at Shah Sarwar Kot Darbar near Adda Lar at Shujaabad Road where they consumed Kheer served by other pilgrims.

They said the Kheer was cooked two days ago and it developed contamination.

They said that all those who consumed the Kheer had started vomiting and fainted.

They said that they were conducting investigation to determine the cause of the suspected contamination.

The victims were identified as Ghulam Hussain (22), Riasat Ali (45), Afzal (25), Samar Abbas (22), Zainab Bibi (40), Akmal Shehzad (40), Bilal (25), Gulshan Khadim (30), Kamran (22), Zarina (60), Kausar Bibi (35), Shoaib (30), Aqib (30), Riaz Bibi (40), Amjad Ali (35), Bushra (30), Izzat Bibi (45), Amjad (22), Zeeshan (20), Asim (11), Naseem Bibi (40), Saim (12), Iftikhar (16), Abdul Jabbar (36), Zeeshan (30), Muhammad Ahmad (21), Faheem (18), Khizar (26), Younis (56), Ali Haider (65), Muhammad Waseem (12), Tayyab (26), Ramzan Ali (23), Zia Fatima (32), Ahmad (10), Adnan Ali (30), Shamaila (30), Aziz Fatima (3), Muhammad Shiraz (17), Muhammad Hamza (12), Amjad Ali (30), Muhammad Yousaf (36), Farman (26), Rukhsar Bibi (32), Kausar Bibi (40) and Arshad (45).

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2026

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