Overnight clashes between devotees and law enforcement personnel at a shrine closed due to coronavirus restrictions left nearly 50 people, including policemen, injured in Pakistan’s Sindh province, prompting authorities to deploy paramilitary troops on Friday morning.
The incident at the Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan on Thursday night took place after the provincial government announced the closure of all shrines to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The clashes took place after hundreds of devotees, who had gathered in Sehwan for the annual Urs, defied government orders and tried to enter the shrine. An official at the shrine said that the devotees had gathered at the shrine for the 769th Urs (death anniversary) of Lal Shahbaz Qalander, a revered Sufi saint.