HYDERABAD: The 274th urs of the great Sufi saint Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai was formally inaugurated by Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani at Bhitshahon Saturday.

The three-day celebrations featuring laying of wreaths on the great saint`s grave by revered personalities and luminaries, recitation of the saint`s mystic poetry, mystic music and dance performances by known artists, poetic sessions, exhibitions, traditional sports and many other events kicked off at sunset on Friday and continued into the night.

Speaker Durrani along with Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Auqaf Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani laid a chador on the grave to formally inaugurate the urs.

Matiari District Council Chairman Makhdoom Fakhar Zaman, CultureSecretary Ghulam Akbar Leghari, Auqaf Secretary Riaz Ahmed Soomro, Chief Administrator of Auqaf Munawwar Ali Mahesar, Hyderabad DIG Jawaid Alam Odho, Matiari Deputy Commissioner Pervez Ahmed Baloch, Matiari SSP Syed Imdad Ali Shah and other of ficials of various departments were present. Speaking to them and the devotees at the shrine, Mr Durrani said: `Pakistan lives long thanks to the good deeds and prayers of saints`.

Mr Durrani sat with the audience in the courtyard of the shrine to enjoy a musical performance by raagis who played tradition musical instruments with great skill to recite Shah Bhitai`s kalam and received great applause.

Mr Durrani also gave away gifts and handouts to the poor visitors to the shrine and noted down his impressions in the visitors` book. Later, the Sindh Assembly speaker inaugurated `cultural village` in the Shah Jo Bagh area, inaugurated anindustrial, agricultural and livestock exhibition, visited various stalls and watched traditional dance performances by artists at dif ferent segments of the festival.

Separately, Minister for Culture Syed Sardar Ali Shah, along with Law Minister Ziaul Hassan L anjar, Senator Aajiz Dhamra and other Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders including Qasim Siraj Soomro laid a chador on the grave of Shah Bhitai.

The leaders took round of different parts of the shrine to see that all events of the urs were being held smoothly and in a peaceful manner. They briefly attended various events of mystic dance and poetic sittings and appreciated performances by artists.

Syed Ghulam Shah Jilani presented traditional gifts of Sindhi ajrak and cap to the visiting ministers and leaders.

Speaking to the people and the media, Syed Sardar Ali Shah said that it was an honour for him to visit Shah Bhitai`s shrineand see that his message of love, peace and interfaith harmony was being disseminated by his followers with the same zeal and zest even now af ter three centuries.

He said Shah Bhitai`s philosophy was greatly acclaimed internationally and scholars were doing research on it in different parts of the world.

He made mention of a Taiwanese woman who studied at the Harvard University and was so impressed by Shah`s kalam that she came to Pakistan to recite the poetic work with raag.

He appreciated the urs organising body for making suitable arrangements for the celebrations.

He told the media that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would preside over the concluding session of the urs on Monday. He said the shrine might be closed to the general public briefly on account of security for the party chief and his entourage.