Daily Times

Sir: Inhumane activities are on the rise in our country. A very tragic incident took place on April 2, 2017, in Sargodha in which as many as 20 devotees were brutally slaughtered while four others were injured on a Sufi shrine.

These devotees were intoxicated and then stabbed to death by the shrine’s custodian. Locals reported that the shrine’s custodian, Waheed, used to physically torture the devotees. People usually came to Waheed for the treatment of various physical and mental illnesses.

It was soon discovered that this custodian was a psychopath, and used to torture devotees. I condemn this grotesque massacre in the strongest of terms. Although our country is considered a developing nation, we need to understand that the development has not yet extended to the remote regions.

There is a lack of awareness and education amongst the masses. People are of the view that they can be healed by physical pain and torture. Another important thing to look upon is the lack of hospitals, which can treat mentally ill people. I believe that these aspects should be taken into consideration and be worked upon by the higher authorities so that people stop practising and believing in these myths.

NAVEEN ZEHRA

Karachi