LAHORE: The threeday annual Urs celebrations of Sufi saint Hazrat Bahauddin Zakariya Suharwardi began in Multan on Sunday.

As the shrine caretaker Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi is in jail in connection with May 9 riots case, his son Makhdoom Zain Qureshi, and his brother Makhdoom Mureed Hussain Qureshi, along with other family elders, gave ceremonial bath to the shrine and inaugurated the 785th annual Urs of the saint.

The Qureshi family laid a floral cover on the shrine and offered prayers.

Zain Qureshi also presided over the inaugural session of the NationalZakariya Conference held in connection with the Urs.

He said the saint`s teachings were not confined to a single school of thought, but meant for all humanity.

He said the tendencies of extremism and sectarianism could be eradicated by following his teachings.

Zain Qureshi also read out the message of Shah Mahmood Qurreshi to the conference participants, saying that his father should be remembered in special prayers during the Urs ceremonies.

`Though I am not physically present [in the Urs], I am with you all in spirit, Shah Mehmood said in the message. Staff Reporter