THAR – SYNONYMOUS
WITH DAWAH AND SERVICE

On an ordinary day of September 1997, Maulana Jan Muhammad Abbasi said to me, “Someone I know gave me Rs70,000 to have wells dug in Tharparkar. It has been several months but I haven’t been able to get it done due to my engagements. Please get it done for me, if possible.” Abbasi sahib also said that immense efforts were made in the past to organize JI in Tharparkar. Yousuf Afandi sahib, a saint-like man belonging to Badin – carried out dawah and political work in Mithi, Diplo, Chachro and other areas of Thar. He had also spoken to the administration and successfully acquired plots to build madrasas. He was also named as a candidate by the JI for the National Assembly seat in 1970. Afandi sahib contested the election with limited resources and a small electoral team, and secured 17,000 votes.

Unfortunately, JI couldn’t maintain its presence in Thar after Afandi sahib. The district faces numarous issues, and is devoid of basic amenities. It isn’t easy to conduct organizational activities there. I replied that I have never visited Thar, but with the responsibility, I will go there myself for a survey, and have the wells dug in villages where they are the most needed. Abbasi sahib named some people who could go with me, including Abdul Rahim Khan of Mirpurkhas and Umar Khan of Jhuddo. I left for Tharparkar after a few days with my driver Miandad and son Asim Iqbal. We picked Abdul Rahim sahib, Umar Khan and Shabbir Ahmad Khan on the way, and arrived in Thar’s central city of Mithi. Our first visit spanned three days (Aug 23-25), and the entire trip was arranged by Umar Khan. There was no possibility of traveling via car beyond Mithi for a lack of a road at the time.

One could still commute on the uneven routes, but on a Kekra (a Great War era military truck) or through a camel or a jeep. Umar Khan hired a jeep and there began our first journey into the desert. The driver deflated some of the air. Seeing me amazed, he said, “Maulvi sahib, that’s how a vehicle makes its way in the dirt.” After several hours of travel, we reached a village bordering India. It was monsoon but during the morning, the skies were clear and there was no chance of a rain. But in the afternoon, dark clouds began to suddenly cover the horizon from all sides, and before long, it was raining heavily. We met some of the locals, and inquired them about the village’s population and the availability of drinkable water. We promised them a well and started our journey back to Mithi.

The people told us that we won’t be stranded in case of a downpour because there will be standing water everywhere, but we were able to return to Mithi in a few hours’ span, somehow. It was an old-model jeep and wasn’t fully covered, and so our clothes and shoes had gotten wet. We arrived in Mithi in the evening. We were strangers in the city, and didn’t know a guesthouse or a hotel, or a home where we could stay for the night. We saw a small mosque where we offered Maghrib prayers and spoke to the prayer leader. He arranged mattresses in a small room, and made the generous offer of a dinner. We were all actually really hungry, so no one refused it. We were served daal that had been cooked for the children of the mosque’s madrasa, in clean dishes. We were starving so it felt as if we were eating a delicious biryani or qorma. Since we were so tired due to the travel, we were fast asleep even on the floor, only waking up at Fajr azan.

On my return, I held a presser to apprise people about the issues in Thar, and asked people to donate to Al-Khidmat Welfare Society to facilitate it to dig wells in the desert district. My second visit was on October 27 with Zubair Mansoori belonging to Karachi. On October 26, we attended programs in Jhuddo in connection with JI’s membership campaign and left for Mithi the next morning. We were accompanied by Abdul Rahim Khan sahib, Umar Khan Qaimkhani, and Darya Khan Samejo, a local belonging to Thar. We made new members during the trip, which was arranged by Umar Khan who had teamed up with some of the locals. He had also set up a camp at one of the prominent places in the city.

Later, Umar Khan wrote an article for ‘Asia’ and Zubair Mansoori penned a piece for the Friday Special to highlight the situation in Thar, and then we ushered into a regular back-and-forth to the desert. After some time, Umar Khan informed me about the wells in three villages, and asked me to visit the area to inaugurate them. When he called, Zubair Mansoori was with me at Idara noor-e-haq. He strongly advised that we take Dr. Faiyaz Alam along because he had the experience of working with the Green Crescent Trust, Muslim Aid, UK, and Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) Relief, so he could play his role in deriving funds for various projects in the area. Dr. Faiyaz lived close to Altaf Hussain’s 90 residence at the time, in the party’s stronghold of Azizabad. When I reached his street early in the morning with Miandad, armed youth approached us. They recognized me and returned where they had come from. We picked Zubair Mansoori and then Umar Khan from Jhuddo, and arrived in Mithi. Meanwhile, Umar Khan had begun the digging in some other villages and had some people in his rabt.

As per the terminology of JI and IJT [Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba], if you have someone in your rabt (contact), that means you introduce them to the objectives of the organization, and provide copies of the Qur’an, books of Hadith and Islamic literature, besides making them a part of party meetings. The objective is to train them under the system and incorporate the concept of Iqamat-e-Deen in them. We made a stopover after Asr prayers as we discussed the progress in terms of dawah and welfare work. Dr. Faiyaz said he would talk to the Green Crescent trustees – Mian Tanvir Magon, Saeed Ismail, Shamim Pasha, Abdul Ghaffar Umar, Zahid Saeed, Abrar Magon, and others about visiting the area. He also said that he would write to Muslim Aid, UK and ICNA to seek financial aid for the drinking water projects.

Naufil Shahrukh, his peer from Green Crescent Trust at the time, was an expert in report writing and written communication. He used to visit Karachi JI’s mass media office on Shahid Shamsi’s invitation to develop news stories in English. During the discussion, Dr. Faiyaz asked as to how long the team will continue to make visits to the desert. He recommended a permanent base in the area, and cited the example of Christian missionaries who spread their message in different areas of the world via services in education and health. He urged that JI should also work in the aforesaid sectors, and establish its dawah. I and other members of the team instantly agreed, but a lack of financial resources was the main concern. The advertisement in Jasarat had resulted in finances for a few wells. Al-Khidmat mainly earned from selling hides of sacrificial animals, which would later be spent on Karachi’s welfare projects.

The ad could only garner the attention of a few in Karachi, because the commoners were almost oblivious about Thar. We decided to meet Zahid Saeed and Abrar Magon to establish a school in Mithi. Dr. Fayyaz and Naufil Shahrukh emailed the Muslim Aid, UK and ICNA to brief them on the situation. I also talked to a number of people. The efforts bore fruit and a substantial amount gathered in Al-Khidmat’s bank account in a short span. The Green Crescent Trust, too sent a decent grant for the distribution of ration and wells in the district. I asked dear fellow, naib qayyim Karachi JI Abdul Rasheed Baig to monitor the well projects. He had diverse experience in social work, and expertise in documenting financial details. Baig sahib went to Thar and soon, a good number of wells began appearing in Kaloi, Diplo, Mithi, Islamkot, and Nagarparkar. Baig sahib used to take the locals onboard; he would provide them with cement and blocks, and they would begin digging wells. This would enable a well to be dug comparatively at a very low cost. Close to Umarkot was this large, Muslim-majority area of Chachro, but we couldn’t execute more than a few water projects there owing to a lack of JI workers or associates, and it was too far from Mithi.

Opening of Hilal School in Mithi

After a third visit to Thar, I met Zahid Saeed and Abrar Magon, and gave them every detail about the area. They said that Dr. Faiyaz is the institute’s administrator, and has the task of opening new schools. Former IJT Sindh nazim Azeem Baloch was associated with Green Crescent Trust at the time, and was assigned the task to open schools in interior Sindh. It was decided to rent a building to set up Hilal Public School in Mithi. Zubair Mansoori held a meeting with four graduates of Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia of Mansoora, Hala at Quba mosque, Gulberg. But when they were asked about moving to Mithi and operating a school, two of them said they couldn’t do so due to the harsh weather. However, Mir Muhammad Buledi and Muhammad Sadiq agreed to the proposal, and so the school was set up, and housed the first office of JI Tharparkar. It was the second private school to be established in Mithi.

Likewise, in 2000, a school was established in Islamkot; the first private school of this small but important city. Mir Muhammad Buledi and Muhammad Sadiq began to spread JI’s dawah in Mithi city and adjoining villages, and they enthusiastically joined Umar Khan and others for the purpose. Both the schools soon had a good number of children in them, because it was difficult to even think of inexpensive and quality education in both the cities. During those days, Dr. Faiyaz named Al-Khidmat’s wells in Tharparkar as the Zam Zam project. He teamed up with Obaidullah Kehar and Naufil Shahrukh to make a documentary, which resulted in convincing many new donors to contribute for the water projects in the desert. On September 11 and 12, 1999, an eye camp was organized in Mithi in collaboration with PIMA, Green Crescent Trust, and Society for the Prevention and Restoration of Vision. It provided treatment to several thousands.

Some 254 patients received treatment for cataract, which involved 160 phacoemulsification surgeries; the most advanced method of eye operation at the time. The next year, on November 10, 11, and 12, another eye camp was set up with the cooperation of the aforesaid, and several hundreds were provided free-of-cost treatment. The doctors, namely Asad Alam, Zakiuddin Sabri, Shayan Shadmani, Rao Muhammad Naeem, and Muslim Mursaleen were a part of both the camps.

There was a severe drought in some districts of Balochistan and as well as Dadu and Tharparkar in the latter part of April 2000. The reports in the media suggested deaths of hundreds of livestock and peacocks. Subsequently, thousands of people had to migrate to the areas close to canals in the wake of the calamity. I convened an emergent meeting at Idara noor-e-haq, participated by Abdul Rasheed Baig, Dr. Faiyaz Alam, Dr. Tabassum Jafri, Dr. Muhammad Khalid, Umar Khan, Zubair Mansoori, Muhammad Younus, and Ashraf Samon. We decided to distribute ration among the affectees of different areas, and set up stalls to provide flour at a very low price. It was also decided to set up mobile medical camps to provide treatment to people near their homes. Abdul Rasheed Baig coordinated with Umar Khan, Younus Qaimkhani, Mir Muhammad Buledi, and Muhammad Sadiq to conduct a very successful campaign, and efficiently surveyed affectees in far-flung areas.

With regard to distribution of ration, caution was exercised to ensure the sanctity of those collecting it, and every effort was made to avoid long queues so that people don’t have to endure the hardship. The doctors, namely Sultan Mustafa, Tabassum Jafri, Muhammad Khalid, Humayun Farrukh, Zakiuddin Sabri, Salim Ghayoor, and Ahsanullah Husaini participated in the camp. Dr. Faiyaz brought his wife and two young children to the camp. When I saw them getting off a bus in the warmest weather of May, I wept and prayed to Allah to accept all efforts of the team being made in his way.The then central chief of JI, Qazi Hussain Ahmad, provincial chief Asadullah Bhutto, and former MNA Muzaffar Hashmi also visited Mithi.

Qazi sahib distributed ration and inaugurated a library in Mithi. Then, we all went to Islamkot, where Qazi sahib reviewed wheat distribution, and inquired the locals about the situation. Asadullah Bhutto and Umar Khan then left for Nagarparkar. We initiated Al-Ilm project and established small schools, which are now more than 50 in number. In another initiative aimed at provision of interest-free loans for dignified earning, several hundred people were provided Rs20,000 to Rs50,000 as loans. The ratio of the repayment remained more than 70 percent. Mir Muhammad Buledi and Muhammad Sadiq left their ancestral areas, and moved permanently to Mithi with their families. The fact is, if they had refused to move to Mithi, it would have been difficult to establish the organization in Thar. Due to assistance from the Green Crescent Trust, Muslim aid, UK, Helping Hand of the US, and the generous donation from the people of Karachi, Al-Khidmat was able to gather the finances for 400 wells.Abdul Rasheed Baig appointed Younus Qaimkhani, Jhuddu’s JI member and a social worker, as his deputy, with locals of Kaloi, Diplo, Mithi, Islamkot, and Nagarparkar in the team for the survey. Due to this, the team was able to execute welfare projects and dawah in the areas where people had never even heard of JI. Abdul Rasheed Baig sahib was a very experienced and passionate social worker, and he had a strong character as an ideological and active worker of the organization. He had the specialty to organize campaigns, and it was a distinguished skill that I only saw in him amongst the people of JI, Karachi.

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