KARACHI: Residents of the historic Ranikot Fort in Pakistan’s Sindh province have told the same stories to their children for centuries — that the mountains surrounding the citadel are home to fairies who descend from the skies to drink water from a pool – known as “Paryun Jo Tar” (fairies’ pond) in the wee hours of the day.
So popular is the myth that it is narrated in great detail by all the families — hailing from the Gabol, Khosa, and Rustamani tribes — who live in the Ranikot Fort area which, according to some accounts, was used by Cyrus the Great as his military garrisons.
“Once upon a time, an elder of the Gabol tribe noticed that some exceptionally beautiful creatures came down from the mountains at the break of dawn, drank water, and flew right back into the highlands,” Syed Gayoor Abbas, an official of the culture department who mans the Fort, told Arab News on Wednesday, adding that the pond in the area got its name after the incident.
The huge fort, with a circumference of approximately 32 kilometers, 36 watchtowers, two fortresses, and a gushing spring, connects several mountains of the Kirthar range, the official said, adding that: “The history of this fort has always been a mystery. There are several different and contending narrations.”
“It is built of sandstones and limestones,” he continued, “which have been held together by lime and gypsum plaster that has, with a passage of time, made the structure much harder.”
The fort has four gates: the Sann Gate is the main road entrance; the Shah Per Gate; Amri Gate; and Mohan Gate that faces the famous Mohenjo-Daro historical sites.
The Mirikot fortress, located in the heart of Ranikot, was apparently designed as the administrative center and royal residence, Abbas said, adding that the other small fortress was called Sher Garh, which was built in the mountains.
Its periphery, he added, measured 1,434 feet, with five bastions and a double gate entrance. The stronghold has two arched vaults of sandstone containing gorgeous carvings with a scroll of pomegranates, sunflowers, and peacocks. The fortress was divided into six areas, including three with residential portions that have seven rooms with slanting roofs. “The three flat-roof rooms belong to the British period,” he said.
Residents of Sindh’s Ranikot Fort hang on tight to their fairytale and military might
Residents of Sindh’s Ranikot Fort hang on tight to their fairytale and military might
- Huge structure has 36 watchtowers and two fortresses
- 12 km long surrounding wall is often referred to as “The Great Wall of Sindh”
Pakistan opposition to continue protest over ex-PM Khan’s health amid conflicting reports
- Pakistan’s government insists that the ex-premier’s eye condition has improved
- Khan’s personal doctor says briefed on his condition but cannot confirm veracity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opposition alliance on Monday vowed to continue their protest sit-in at parliament and demanded “clarity” over the health of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, following conflicting medical reports about his eye condition.
The 73-year-old former cricket star-turned-politician has been held at the high-security Adiala prison in Rawalpindi since 2023. Concerns arose about his health last week when a court-appointed lawyer, Barrister Salman Safdar, was asked to visit Khan at the jail to assess his living conditions. Safdar reported that Khan had suffered “severe vision loss” in his right eye due to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO), leaving him with just 15 percent sight in the affected eye.
On Sunday, a team of doctors from various hospitals visited the prison to examine Khan’s eye condition, according to the Adiala jail superintendent, who later submitted his report in the court. On Monday, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Yahya Afridi observed that based on reports from the prison authorities and the amicus curiae, Khan’s “living conditions in jail do not presently exhibit any perverse aspects.” It noted that Khan had “generally expressed satisfaction with the prevailing conditions of his confinement” and had not sought facilities beyond the existing level of care.
Having carefully perused both reports in detail, the bench observed that their general contents and the overall picture emerging therefrom are largely consistent. The opposition alliance, which continued to stage its sit-in for a fourth consecutive day on Monday, held a meeting at the parliament building on Monday evening to deliberate on the emerging situation and discuss their future course of action.
“The sit-in will continue till there is clarity on the matter of [Khan's] health,” Sher Ali Arbab, a lawmaker from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party who has been participating in the sit-in, told Arab News, adding that PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Opposition Leader in Senate Raja Nasir Abbas had briefed them about their meeting with doctors who had visited Khan on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters outside parliament, Gohar said the doctors had informed them that Khan’s condition had improved.
“They said, 'There has been a significant and satisfactory improvement.' With that satisfactory improvement, we also felt satisfied,” he said, noting that the macular thickness in Khan’s eye had reportedly dropped from 550 to 300 microns, a sign of subsiding swelling.
Gohar said the party did not want to politicize Khan’s health.
“We are not doctors, nor is this our field,” he said, noting that Khan’s personal physician in Lahore, Dr. Aasim Yusuf, and his eye specialist Dr. Khurram Mirza had also sought input from the Islamabad-based medical team.
“Our doctors also expressed satisfaction over the report.”
CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS
Despite Gohar’s cautious optimism, Khan’s personal physician, Dr. Yusuf, issued a video message on Monday, saying he could neither “confirm nor deny the veracity” of the government’s claims.
“Because I have not seen him myself and have not been able to participate in his care... I’m unable to confirm what we have been told,” Yusuf said.
He appealed to authorities to grant him or fellow physician, Dr. Faisal Sultan, immediate access to Khan, arguing that the ex-premier should be moved to Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad for specialist care.
Speaking to Arab News, PTI’s central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram said Khan’s sister and their cousin, Dr. Nausherwan Burki, will speak to media on Tuesday to express their views about the situation.
The government insists that Khan’s condition has improved.
“His eye [condition] has improved and is better than before,” State Minister Talal Chaudhry told the media in a brief interaction on Monday.
“The Supreme Court of Pakistan is involved, and doctors are involved. What medicine he receives, whether he needs to be hospitalized or sent home, these decisions are made by doctors. Neither lawyers nor any political party will decide this.”
