The holy month of Ramzan seems to bring good business for beggars as generally they beg in the name of religion, and receive generous alms, despite begging being illegal in Pakistan.
The large number of beggars haunt mosques and invade streets and shopping malls looking for charity and easy money.
“Begging is like a business for us because we rely on it to earn a living. It’s like a full time job for most of us. We sometimes move from one place to another looking for people to give us money,” said Amna, a professional beggar on a traffic signal.
“Ramzan is a month in which we make more money than any other month, she added.
Ijaz, a 22-year-old beggar, while talking to local media said, “My father is sick and unemployed. I have no choice but to beg. I am begging for the first time,” he said.
Another beggar Hanif says begging has been the main profession of his family for long years. “My father and mother used to be beggars. We are five brothers, three of us are beggars,” he sai.
Many believe professional beggars are exploiting the month of Ramzan, when Muslims tend to give more for charity.
“This is purely a business of exploiting people in Ramzan,” Maulana Asif Tahir a Religious Scholar while commenting on this issue said. He further said that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, has made it Haram for a Muslim to beg money from others without dire necessity, thus losing his honor and dignity. He quoted he who begs without need is like a person holding a burning piece of coal in his hand.
Many residents also get confused as to whether they should comply with the officials’ calls to boycott beggars and report them to the authorities while others prefer to help the beggars, especially during Ramzan.
“I am confused about whether to help a beggar or to pay the money to charities. Sometimes I don’t trust the charity organisations and this is a holy month. I love to assist the needy but sometimes I am confused,” Hashim Rao a resident said.
“We noticed that a number of beggars come together as a group and spread out in different areas. After some time, they gather at a certain meeting point and leave together,” a motorist said.
Beggars are turning out to be a nuisance during Ramzan, said a resident.
Residents also complained that the majority of beggars start knocking at their doors an hour before iftar and continue until midnight.
“These beggars appear only in Ramzan. They are so stubborn and do not take a ‘no’ for an answer,” said Mohammad Arif.
“They are well trained professionals who know how to play on people’s sentiments during Ramzan,” Arif said.
People and the government should work together to limit it, he added.