A Muslim Peer is a religious man; a man of god.He is supposed to be a guide who helps the layman to stay firm on the path to God. A Peer is a part of the Sufi traditionof Islam and most Peer's are greatly respected and revered. The Sufi tradition is strong in India and Pakistan as such they are mostly prevalent in the Indian sub-continent. Many Peer's are hereditary and the son becomes the peer in place of the father.
Pakistan was carved out of India and has a 98% Muslim population. Because of the prevalence of Sufism in Pakistan, particularly in the provinces of Sind and Punjab, many Peer's abound.
Some of them are however, fakes but the people at large cannot distinguish between them.
Exploits of the Peer
In the Punjab province, a Muslim Peer who was fairly young was arrested by the police on a charge of having impregnated nearly 300 women. However, this figure is debatable. In Pakistan the desire for a son is overwhelming and girls are not preferred. This desire to beget a son by marriedwomenled them to this Peer. He promised a son and induced the women to sleep with him. It will surprise western readers that the desire for a son was so strong among these women that they went to the extreme to sleep with the Peer.
The Baba claimed that he had the power to gift a son to any woman who slept with him.
However news of the Peer's "exploits" leaked and rationalists approached the Police. Hearing the police were after him the Peer escaped but he was arrested later.
Last word
The Pakistan Penal Code is a legacy of the British Raj. The Punjab police have arrested the Baba on a charge of rape, but the charge will probably not be proved in the court as no woman wants to give evidence against the peer.
It is not known how many of the women impregnated by the Peer had sons. Such a statistic would be interesting.
Even if the man is tried under the Hudood ordinance the charge of rape cannot be proved as there is a requirement for four male witnesses to the actual act. A man from Lahore explained that the man is out on bail and the trial is just lingering on.
People have varied opinions about the religious leader. One lady has commented that the Peer did a good thing to give childless women a new life by impregnating them as otherwise in Pakistan society the lives of these women is pure hell.