774th Urs celebrations of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar inaugurated

HYDERABAD: The formal inauguration of the 774th annual Urs celebrations of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar was held on Saturday, as Provincial Minister for Auqaf, Syed Riaz Hussain Shah Shirazi, layed floral wreath at the shrine and offered special prayers.

Divisional Commissioner Fayaz Hussain Abbasi, DIG Tariq Razaq Dharejo, Deputy Commissioner Jamshoro Ghazanfar Ali Qadri, Chief Administrator Auqaf Mukhtiar Ali Abro, SSP Jamshoro Mohammad Zafar Chhanga, Chairman Sehwan Municipal Committee Syed Shahzad Haider Shah and other senior officers, were present on the occasion.

Talking to the media, the Provincial Minister said that Sindh is the land of Sufis and saints who spread the message of peace, love and brotherhood, adding that it is due to these teachings that the region has historically remained a centre of harmony. In the prevailing circumstances, he stressed the need to promote the message of Sufis to counter terrorism, intolerance, extremism and other negative social trends.

He said that the Urs of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar is the largest Urs in the country and around three million pilgrims this year are expected, while approximately 2.8 million pilgrims attended the event last year. Responding to a question, he assured that all possible measures were being taken to provide maximum facilities to the devotees.

Replying to another question, Syed Riaz Hussain Shah said that development works were continuously underway in Sehwan, and additional development schemes would be included in the upcoming Annual Development Programme (ADP).

The Provincial Minister strongly condemned the recent bomb blast in Islamabad and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the incident. “Pakistan Army and the Government of Pakistan are actively engaged in operations against terrorism and, with the grace of Allah, terrorism would be completely eradicated from the country”, he said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026