Pakistan: Muslim devotees take a part on the 979th annual ''URS'' celebrations

Rana Sajid Hussain

Pakistani Muslim devotees take a part on the 979th annual ''URS'' celebrations at the shrine of Sufi Saint Syed Ali bin Osman Al-Hajvery, popularly known as "Data Ganj Bakhsh" in Lahore. Thousands of people traveled from all over Pakistan to attend the celebrations. During the festival at the shrine is lit up with candles, earth lams” there are donated food for the people and Sufis, who dance and play music for hours. Data Ganj Bakhsh was a Persian Sufi and scholar during the 11th century. He was born in Ghazni, Afghanistan (990 AD) during the Ghaznavid Empire and settled and died in Lahore spreading Islam in South Asia.