Govt asked to open shrine for devotees

KOHAT: The devotees of Pir Syed Anwar Shah has been staging a sit-in for the last 11 days, asking the government to allow them to open the shrine. The devotees of Pir Syed Anwar Shah have set up the protest camp at Satamsam area close to Orakzai district.

Addressing the participants of the protest sit-in, elders of the Bangash tribes former senator Sajjad Syed, Syed Mahmood Jan, Wali Syed Mian and others said that they wanted to carry out necessary repairs at the shrine of the holy figure, but the government was not allowing them to do so. They maintained the shine needed repair but the government was not allowing them to carry out the repairs. The protesters said that the structure could collapse if it was not repaired. They said that they would stage protests in Peshawar and Islamabad if the demand was not accepted. It may be recalled that the government had closed many shines when militancy was at its peak. The decision had been taken in view of the deteriorating security situation as the militants did not hesitate to hit the shrines of the holy figures.