PM urged to restore status of Bari Imam’s grave

ISLAMABAD: Inhabitants of Noorpur Shahan, located behind the President House, have made an appeal to the prime minister to intervene in what they alleged hurting of their religi0us sentiments by changing status of grave of prominent saint Hazrat Bari Imam.

In a letter to the prime minister, president of Noorpur Shahan Community Development Organisation, Islamabad,  Tanvir Hussain, representatives of Majlis Wahdat Muslimeen and scores of devotees of the saint have drawn his attention to the matter, which they say, is so close to their heart and soul. A copy of the letter is with this correspondent, which carries their signatures.  

They pointed out that both Sunni and Shias had great reverence and affinity with the saint and his mausoleum and alleged that those made responsible had not only dumped the grave of Hazrat Bari Imam but also removed the epitaph, inscribed with names of Ahle Bait and the term ‘syed’ had also been removed and a new title ‘qadri’ attached to the saint’s name. 

Hence, it is a deliberate bid to change identity of the mausoleum, which is tantamount to mutilating historical facts, dating back to over 300 years. 

The letter states that the mausoleum of Hazrat Bari Imam was among the Shia Waqf Mazaraat and the name and titles, which have been removed from his grave, could be spotted at the grave of his father Sakhi Mehmood Badshah at Aabpara.             

“It is our constitutional right to raise voice for redressal of our genuine concerns as our constitution enshrines protection of religious rights of each and every Pakistani," said Tanvir while talking to The News here.

Through the letter, they urged the prime minister to play his role in reversing the status of the grave and placement of original epitaph at the grave of the saint of Potohar region. They were hopeful that the third time elected prime minister would not disappoint them.