Many of the city’s Hindus also observe Ramazan and Iftar has become a social gathering
This photograph taken on February 26, 2026 shows Hindu men preparing Iftar meals during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan, inside a Sufi shrine at Mithi in the Tharparkar district of Sindh province. Photo: AFP
Partab Shivani, a Hind, has fasted on and off during Ramazan for years, but this time is different as he practices abstinence for the entire holy month.
Every year, he and his friends in Sindh’s Mithi arrange Iftar to foster peace and solidarity between Hindus and Muslims.
“I believe we need to promote interfaith harmony. First, we are humans — religions came later,” Shivani, a 48-year-old social activist, told AFP, adding that he also reads the teachings of the Buddha.
“His message is about peace and ending war. Peace can spread through solidarity and by standing with one another. Distance only widens the gap between people,” he added.
Photo: AFP
Ninety-six percent of Pakistan’s 240 million people are Muslim. Just 2% are Hindu, most of them living in rural areas of Sindh.
In Mithi itself, most of the 60,000 inhabitants are Hindu.
Many of the city’s Hindus also observe Ramazan and Iftar has become a social gathering where people from both faiths happily participate.
“This has been a wonderful tradition of ours for a very long time,” said Mir Muhammad Buledi, a 51-year-old Muslim friend who attended Shivani’s Iftar gathering.
“It is a beautiful example of harmony between the two communities.”
‘Like brothers’
Following the end of British rule in South Asia in 1947, the subcontinent was partitioned into mainly Hindu India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. That triggered widespread religious bloodshed in which hundreds of thousands were killed and millions displaced.
Photo: AFP
According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, freedom of religion or belief is under constant threat, with religiously motivated violence and discrimination increasing yearly.
State authorities, often using religious unrest for political gain, have failed to address the crisis, the independent non-profit says.
But such tensions are absent in Mithi.
“I am a Hindu but I keep all the fasts during this month,” said Sushil Malani, a local politician. “I feel happy standing with my Muslim brothers.
“We celebrate Eid together as well. This tradition in the region is very old.”
This photograph taken on February 26, 2026 shows Hindu men offering prayers inside a Sufi shrine during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan, at Mithi in the Tharparkar district of Sindh province. Photo: AFP
Restaurants and tea stalls are closed across the country during the holy month.
Ramesh Kumar, a 52-year-old Hindu man who sells sweets and savoury items outside a shrine, keeps his push cart covered and closed until Iftar.
“There is no discrimination among us if someone is Muslim or Hindu. I have been seeing this since my childhood that we all live together like brothers,” he said.
Muslim shrine, Hindu caretaker
Locals say Mithi’s peaceful religious coexistence can be traced to its remote location, emerging from the sand dunes of the Tharparkar desert, which borders the modern Indian state of Rajasthan.
Cows, considered sacred in Hinduism, roam freely in Mithi city, as they do in India.
At two Sufi shrines in the middle of the city, Hindu families arrange meals, bringing fruit, meals and juices for their Muslim neighbours to break their fasts.
“We respect Muslims,” said Mohan Lal Malhi, a Hindu caretaker of one of the shrines.
Photo: AFP
Mohan said his parents and elders taught him to respect people regardless of religion or colour, and the traditions pass from one generation to the next.
Local residents said both communities consider their social relationships more important than their religious identity.
“You will see a [Sikh] gurdwara, a mosque and a shrine standing side by side here,” Mohan said. “The atmosphere of this area teaches humanity.”
