Govt asked to open shrines for devotees in Orakzai

KALAYA: The devotees of a number of saints in lower Orakzai tribal district on Sunday asked the government to allow them to open the shrines or else they would stage a sit-in. The devotees of Pir Syed Anwar Shah, Pir Syed Khalil Baba, Mast Mir Qasim and Mian Mir Aqil threatened to stage protests if they were not allowed to open the shrines.

Addressing the participants of a protest gathering, Member Provincial Assembly Mian Iqbal, Tehreek Hussaini Parachinar President Yousaf Hussain, Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen provincial leader Shafiq Hussain, Syed Basharat Mian, Noor Akbar and others said that they wanted to carry out necessary repairs at the shines of the holy figures.

They maintained the shines needed repair but the government was not allowing them to carry out the repairs. The protesters said that the structures could collapse if these were not repaired. They maintained that there was complete harmony among the members of the Sunni and Shai sect.