At least 13 pilgrims, belonging to the Zikri community, were injured when a coach overturned between Taller and Beari area of Kech district on 24th June.
The pilgrims were on their way to Pasni after attending the annual religious congregation of the community at Koh-i-Murad near Turbat when their bus overturned after a tyre burst.
Hundreds of thousands people, including women and children, had assembled at Koh-i-Murad three days ago to attend the annual congregation of the Zikri community.
Koh-e-Murad is a shrine, which is located in Turbat, Baluchistan. This location is a sacred site for Zikris where prayers have been offered since over five centuries. Zikris, an offshooot of Mahdavia one among the many sects of Islam, called it Ziarat sharif, Zikris, think that their Mahdi Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri, camped here for several months while proceeding from Thatta to Farah. On 27th Ramadan 908 Hijri,following the Divine command, he, along with his traveling family members and companions, offered two Raka'as Thanksgiving Prayers at Koh-e-Murad (Mount of Desire). This obligatory prayer was led by him followed by his thousands of local followers. Before his death in Afghan province Farah, he along with his companions and followers also offered this special thanksgiving prayers "Dougana Laylat ul Qadr",in 909 and 910. Since then all the members of Mahdavia Muslim Community and Zikris under the leadership of their Murshid (Spiritual guides), regularly offer this annual thanksgiving prayer, also known as "Dougana" Laylat ul Qadr,with all religious fervor, pomp and gaiety,only to offer their humble thanks to Allah Who blessed this night of Value, Might and Destiny by the virtue of their Imam Mahdi Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri.
The members of Zikri sect gather here at the twenty-seventh night of Ramadan for ziyarat - to a shrine dedicated to their Mahdi in an event also called the Choghan in local Balochi language.
Zikris, who are predominantly Baloch, have been living in the southern part of Balochistan called Makran. Besides Makran, they also have settlements in Awaran, Khuzdar, Lasbela, Karachi, in the interior parts of Sindh and even in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan region. Unofficially, it is stated that the global population of Zikri Baloch is around 750, 000. Most reside in Balochistan proper.
Zikri Baloch are followers of the Indian Sufi Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri. According to some other writers their ancestry belongs to fatmid caliphate. They further add that Jaunpuri founded the sect in the 15th century, when he claimed to be a Mahdi – a messianic reformer of Islam. However, it is also said that followers of the Zikri belief system flourished in the 16th century in Balochistan.
Back in 1977-88, during the dictatorial days of General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq, the Zikri Baloch also faced discrimination and assaults just like other religious minorities. Once Ahamdis were constitutionally declared non-Muslims by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto after 1974, conservatives also exerted pressure throughout Zia’s regime to declare the Zikri Baloch to be non-Muslims in the same way.
CPEC originates from Gwadar, where there is a significant population of Zikris. Also, the CEPC route goes through Zikri settlements throughout Makran.
Since 2004, when the fifth Baloch insurgency started, government officials at times accused Zikris of having joined the ranks and files of the banned separatist outfits that target the government.
For some Zikris, before the CPEC era, the insurgency itself was the main threat. There was widespread speculation that insurgents ambushed, attacked and kidnapped the workers from the Zikri community. This makes it even more tragic that Zikris are sometimes viewed by security officials as having a significant role in the armed insurgency.