HYDERABAD: After crossing police station Qasimabad opposite Sindhi Adabi Board, a street on its left ends up at a huge complex-style Noor Mosque, set up probably in late 1970s or early ’80s in Qasimabad’s Wahdat Colony.

Stretching over 4-5 acres of land, it is a local headquarter of Raiwind’s Tableeghi Jamaat which also houses a seminary, Madressah Noorul Islam, on upper portion.

A huge courtyard faces a ground and at its end lies the main mosque. Weekly congregation — every Thursday — is held round the year in the mosque, managed by a 10-member shura currently headed by Haji Aslam.

Many people from across Hyderabad and other districts attend the Thursday sittings. And they bring beddings for an overnight stay and leave the mosque on Friday morning.

The mosque has been in the limelight for the last few days after three of its members — one of them a Chinese Muslim — tested positive for coronavirus.

Results of the tests of more — around 200 — people of those staying in the mosque were to be issued tonight (Monday evening).

Covid-19 detection raised alarm bells in society and within government. About 210 men from other parts of Pakistan and foreign soil were staying in the mosque. “We obtained their samples for tests as they stay cheek by jowl in their sittings and share food jointly, something not warranted in present condition. And all this panics us in view of the pandemic,” says a senior officer.

Groups of people arrive from Raiwind to leave for other destinations for preaching. They stay in Hyderabad centre that oversees seven other centres in lower Sindh. Preachers’ groups originate from Noor Mosque that is second after Karachi. Third centre, Yusuf Mosque, is located in Sukkur which has again warranted administrative attention because of presence of close to 400 jamaat members staying there or shifted from upper Sindh.

The Chinese Muslim who tested positive for coronavirus on March 27 prompted authorities to screen all those staying in Noor Mosque. Initially, samples of eight fellows were taken. Of them, two tested positive who stayed in close contact with the Chinese man, necessitating collection of samples of all 200 men.

It was done on Sunday and their results were expected from Diagnostic and Research Laboratory (DRL) of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) tonight. Officials anxiously await results of these 200 plus samples.

“We are keeping fingers crossed till lab reports of these 200 fellows are issued”, says an official, his voice filled with fear.

Of the 210 people whose samples were collected by doctors, 54 men were shifted to the Labour Colony quarantine facility and 78 to Rajputana Hospital on Monday afternoon under surveillance.

“Why they are being shifted to Labour Colony quarantine facility and why can’t they be kept within mosque that has enough space?” asks a worried administration officer. He says these are men from northern areas and it will be difficult to make them stay in quarantine.

Administrator of Noor Mosque contends that “actually groups were formed before coronavirus situation emerged. We didn’t hold past two shab-i-juma [Thursday evening gatherings]. It is a huge loss to our work,” he contends over phone from the mosque where he has been staying for 16 days now.

Following reports of virus’s detection in Noor Mosque, presence of Tableeghi men visiting different localities in other districts of Sindh frightened inhabitants of the area they were stationed.

An under-construction mosque, Makki Masjid, in Sehrish Nagar has been closed and police were deployed after a 15-member group arrived. “A businessman in Memon Society is hosting a similar group from a foreign country in his house and not letting them go,” said Rehmatullah Saand, a social worker from Qasimabad.

Wearing a mask, a man from Swat spoke to this correspondent in the mosque where he is quarantined. He faces a dilemma too when it comes to transportation. “We were to leave on April 1 but resumption of railway traffic is not in sight,” he said. Police make sure they should not leave and mingle with population.

Fear of further spread of virus through Tableeghi Jamaat members as reported in other parts of the country panicked administration and authorities across the province. They started collecting their data and confining them wherever they are staying, be it a village or urban centre, as precautionary measures. They had to suspend their activities.

Various groups comprising a total of 830 men had originated from Noor Mosque and of them 234 men belong to Hyderabad’s Noor Mosque alone,” says a police officer. “If more samples turned out to be positive, we will go for sending all of them to quarantine separately as per SOP. This may put us in a difficult situation for want of space and personal protective equipment for those dealing with them,” says a senior police officer.

The situation is equally alarming in other regions like Mirpurkhas and Sukkur. “Around 260 persons [from Tableeghi Jamaat] are currently said to be present at 24 locations for preaching in Mirpurkhas district,” says DIG Mirpurkhas Zulfiqar Larik. Likewise survey for Mithi district is under way as well,” says the DIG, adding that 93 persons were present at 14 different locations in Umerkot.

In some cases people started making videos of such visiting groups of preachers and in Qazi Ahmed town, police had lodged a case against pesh imam (prayer leader) of Aqsa Masjid, Asif Colony, for violating Section 144 of the CrPC to make them leave, confirms SHO Hussain Kharal.

Upper Sindh region’s districts like Shikarpur and Larkana have strong religious colour. Larkana district police chief Masood Bangash dispatched around 200 jamaat members from his area who ended up in Sukkur’s Yusuf Mosque.

It is learnt that around 430 people, including 68 foreigners, are staying there and of them, 310 are from Punjab and 60 form Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Published in Dawn, March 31st, 2020