Across Pakistan, dargahs and darbars have long stood as centres of faith and fellowship. But they are also, in many ways, the country’s most enduring welfare institutions.
At a time when the state has struggled to sustain social protection schemes, these shrines have quietly filled the void. They provide free meals, shelter and small grants to those who arrive with little more than faith. In towns and villages where public assistance is minimal, they remain a lifeline.
The scale of their contribution is immense. Pakistan’s annual charitable giving is estimated at more than Rs800 billion, a significant portion of which is directed towards food, healthcare and welfare through faith-based networks. Shrines such as Data Darbar in Lahore and Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi feed thousands daily, while smaller dargahs continue to operate local food distribution drives. During the 2022 floods and subsequent economic downturn, these networks became crucial partners in relief, often reaching communities before official aid arrived.
This reliance also reflects the limits of state capacity. The transition from faith-based charity to structured social protection has been slow and uneven. Programmes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Ehsaas have expanded cash transfers to millions, yet they primarily target registered households within formal administrative databases. Large segments of the informal workforce, such as daily-wage labourers, rural women without CNIC registration and displaced families outside the social registry, often remain excluded. Access barriers, bureaucratic verification and uneven provincial coordination have all limited the reach of these welfare schemes.
It is within these gaps that dargahs and darbars continue to operate as parallel safety nets. From serving daily meals to providing temporary shelter and small cash support, these religious institutions reach communities often bypassed by state welfare. Their ability to mobilise donations rapidly and distribute assistance without formal paperwork enables them to fill immediate needs that formal mechanisms struggle to meet.
In cities like Lahore, Sehwan Sharif and Pakpattan, shrines feed thousands daily, bridging the space between spiritual devotion and social welfare. What has emerged is a hybrid welfare model, partly state-driven, partly community-led, where the moral economy of faith sustains what fiscal constraints cannot. The legal and administrative framework around these institutions has evolved gradually. The Auqaf (Federal Control) Act of 1976 created the first formal structure for managing waqf properties and shrines, bringing certain major institutions under public oversight. Following devolution, provinces developed their own mechanisms.
The Punjab Charities Act of 2018 and the Sindh Waqf Properties Act of 2020 are key examples that require registration, record-keeping and financial disclosure from religious charities. These laws seek to promote transparency while respecting the sanctity of faith-based giving.
However, implementation remains uneven. Many shrines continue to operate autonomously, often without detailed public accounts of donations or expenditures. While some have instituted regular audits and structured charitable programmes, others function through informal community mechanisms. The absence of standardised regulation means that practices vary widely, with little coordination between Auqaf departments and social welfare agencies. The challenge lies not in curbing charity but in integrating it into broader systems of welfare delivery.
This integration is both necessary and feasible. The government already maintains partnerships with private and non-profit sectors in education and health. Similar models could formalise collaboration with shrine-based welfare networks, particularly in food distribution and community assistance. For instance, provincial governments could coordinate data collection with major dargahs to map feeding patterns, identify areas of overlap and direct surplus food to underserved regions. Such coordination would allow shrine-based efforts to complement, rather than substitute, formal safety nets.
The sustainability of these institutions also depends on financial planning. Inflation has raised the cost of maintaining langars and community kitchens, stretching resources thin. Large shrines with steady donations continue to serve thousands, but smaller ones often struggle to meet demand. A more integrated approach combining zakat, waqf and government support could help stabilise operations. Transparency in accounting would also strengthen public trust and attract philanthropic partners.
However, integration brings its own challenges. Oversight mechanisms must respect the autonomy of custodians while ensuring accountability. Excessive bureaucratic control risks alienating communities, whereas a lack of structure could lead to the misuse of funds. A balanced approach would involve voluntary registration and light-touch regulation, supported by digital reporting platforms and independent audits. The goal should be to enable collaboration, not control.
Beyond administrative issues, the rise of shrine-based welfare raises deeper questions about social policy. Should religious institutions continue to shoulder a role that belongs to the state? Or should they be formally recognised as partners in a plural welfare framework? In Pakistan’s context, the answer may lie somewhere in between. Faith-based giving is woven into the social fabric and unlikely to diminish, but the state must remain the ultimate guarantor of welfare. The task, therefore, is not to replace one with the other, but to create channels through which both can coexist productively.
There are encouraging signs of this approach. The Punjab Social Protection Authority has begun exploring partnerships with community organisations, while Sindh’s Auqaf Department has taken steps to digitise waqf records. Such measures indicate a shift toward transparency and coordination. Yet progress remains slow, hindered by bureaucratic inertia and limited data-sharing between departments.
Ultimately, the story of Pakistan’s dargahs is one of resilience and renewal. They have fed millions, provided shelter to the homeless and offered comfort in times of despair. Their continued relevance reflects both the generosity of citizens and the gaps in institutional capacity. But as Pakistan faces economic uncertainty and rising poverty, charity alone cannot sustain a nation. Faith may feed the spirit, but policy must feed the system.
Integrating shrine-based welfare into formal social protection frameworks is not about secularising spirituality. It is about building a more inclusive, transparent, and sustainable model of care. The shrines of Pakistan will continue to serve as sanctuaries of compassion. The task before the state is to ensure that this compassion becomes part of a larger, coherent strategy to protect and uplift all citizens.
The writer is a transnational educational consultant, freelance columnist and policy analyst based in Lahore.