Across Pakistan, dargahs and darbars have long stood as centres of faith and fellowship. But they are also, in many ways, the country’s most enduring welfare institutions.

At a time when the state has struggled to sustain social protection schemes, these shrines have quietly filled the void. They provide free meals, shelter and small grants to those who arrive with little more than faith. In towns and villages where public assistance is minimal, they remain a lifeline.

The scale of their contribution is immense. Pakistan’s annual charitable giving is estimated at more than Rs800 billion, a significant portion of which is directed towards food, healthcare and welfare through faith-based networks. Shrines such as Data Darbar in Lahore and Abdullah Shah Ghazi in Karachi feed thousands daily, while smaller dargahs continue to operate local food distribution drives. During the 2022 floods and subsequent economic downturn, these networks became crucial partners in relief, often reaching communities before official aid arrived.

This reliance also reflects the limits of state capacity. The transition from faith-based charity to structured social protection has been slow and uneven. Programmes such as the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) and Ehsaas have expanded cash transfers to millions, yet they primarily target registered households within formal administrative databases. Large segments of the informal workforce, such as daily-wage labourers, rural women without CNIC registration and displaced families outside the social registry, often remain excluded. Access barriers, bureaucratic verification and uneven provincial coordination have all limited the reach of these welfare schemes.

It is within these gaps that dargahs and darbars continue to operate........

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