Daily Times

Indian delegation comprising of around 60 devotees from the Rajasthan province arrived at the shrine of Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya Multani (RA) to attend the concluding ceremony of the three-day Urs celebrations. The 779th Urs celebrations of the great Sufi saint started on Monday and concluded on Wednesday.

The custodian of the shrine and current Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while presiding over the concluding ceremony welcomed the devotees who reached from the other side of the border. Qureshi praised the love of those devotees who reached barefoot from India, Afghanistan and internal Sindh. The doors of Auliya Allah (friends of Allah) are open for everyone, all those people who come here are showered with the blessings of Almighty Allah, said Qureshi.

Qureshi further said that the desires of those people whose hearts are filled with the love of these Sufi saints are fulfilled when they reach at the shrine. They are especially called by the Auliya and are our special guests, he said. He said that hosting these foreign devotees is always a pleasure and it doubles the happiness of this auspicious occasion. He said that people to people contact can help in promotion of better ties with India and the rest of the neighboring countries. All the forces of extremism and terrorism can be eliminated with the help of increased connectivity and through Dargah diplomacy or pilgrimage diplomacy, he added. Qureshi added that the devotees from India are the evidence of love of Auliyah Allah. They reached Pakistan despite all the visa related difficulties, he said. Qureshi also thanked the people of Ghotki Sindh, who completed their journey on foot with in the time period of one month to reach the shrine.

The devotees from India said that the message of Sufi saints was only love. Their religion was love and they embraced every human being without giving any weight to religion, cast, colour or creed. Devotees from India invited people of Pakistan to attend the Urs celebrations of Hazrat Nizam ud din Auliya (RA) in Dehli and Hazrat Moeen Uddin Chishti (RA) at Ajmeer, Rajasthan. They said that these saints gave the message of peace, love and harmony and the current world problems can be eliminated by following their teachings.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi offered prayers for the peace and prosperity of country. On this occasion, Sabeels (stalls of water and milk) were also set up for the devotees.

Ameer Ahle Sunnat Khalid Sultan, Zonal Administrator Auqaf Multan Al Mustufa, MPA Nadeem Qureshi, Additional Secretary Auqaf Punjab Athar Masood and officials of district government were also present on this occasion.

Published in Daily Times, October 18^th 2018.