Despite thousands slain, maimed, traumatised and sexually abused, faith healers are attracting people as usual. As no law exists to regulate them, self-proclaimed spiritual leaders go about fleecing people who throng them for the solution of their problems, at times deepening their spiritual and physical illness rather than curing them.

Business of faith-healing is thriving, mostly run by quacks, even in city centres. Many charge exorbitantly for relief services in the shape of hard cash. They also receive gold ornaments. Faith healers’ home, property, car and other luxuries of life are considered to be assets accumulated through charity. Hence, they are exempted from various liabilities of taxes.

It is precisely the sole enterprise that earns in millions but legally pays no tax to the government. Credit goes to financial wizards who never deem faith-healing services taxable.

According to a Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) leader, a religious organisation subscribing to the Barelvi (sufi) school of thought, there is no specific data available to count the number of faith healers either genuine or fake.

A SIC leader, fearing backlash on disclosure of identity, reveals on the condition of anonymity that one of the faith healers in Lahore made business of more than Rs. 0.1 million in March this year. "He is among top 50 faith healers who practice elaborate rituals; from holding istakhara, awarding amulets, specific rings, conducting ceremonies, practising exorcism, animal sacrifices and others".

In a new development, faith healers have gone online to exploit locals and even those living abroad. They provide services like "Mehboob ap ke qadmo main (beloved or lover in ones’ control), pasand ki shaadi (love marriage), beemari se nijaat (getting rid of disease), kaam main bandish (hurdles in work), naukri ki pareshani (unemployment), aulaad ka na hona (infertility), sautan ka masla (problem of second wife of husband), mian biwi ka jhagra (conflict with spouse), imtihanaat me kamyabi (success in examination), rizq me kami (meagre income) and many more. They claim to bestow relief to sufferers within minutes to hours with more than hundred per cent guarantee.

A senior official of the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) Aman Anwar Qidwai tells TNS that taxation law is being revamped according to new demands in the service sector, including those operational online in Pakistan’s cyber space.

"So far, faith healing services are out of radar of taxation law. They will remain untaxed unless legislations are enacted," he says.

An official of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) too admits that neither the taxation law nor cyber law cover faith-healing practioners’ business. "Whether it’s banking transactions, online websites or social media platforms -- all money is under the guise of donation or charity which enjoys tax exemption," he says.

In the absence of any rules and regulations to check the emerging market of faith-healing, poor people are the ones to suffer most. Recently, a shrine custodian Abdul Waheed, self-proclaimed faith healer, killed 20 devotees in Sargodha. On May 16, 2017, fake faith healer Bilal Shah raped two women in the name of exorcism in Jetha Bhatta Rahim Yar Khan.

Jamila Naz, a resident of Sadar, Lahore says that she phoned a faith healer seeking his services to pave way for good health and better employment for her sons. Initially, Baba Jee (spiritual leader) pretended to do all free of cost. But later his deputy demanded Rs9,999, saying that the amount was not for recitation of Quranic verses, instead for animal sacrifices and feeding of moakals (supernatural spirits).

"I had three baby girls but not a son. Allah Wali Sarkar gave a taveez (amulet) with some amliyat (special rituals) for three weeks. He also offered some recitation of Quranic verses to seek divine intervention. Last year God granted me a baby boy. Allah Wali Sarkar did not demand but I gave Rs50,000 and two tolas gold jewellery in donation," Rabia Khalid, a resident of Shadbagh, shares her experience.

Despite modernisation and scientific advancement, even mainstream political leaders, business tycoons, bureaucrats and other high profile people seek faith-healing services. "Nawaz Sharif, Benazir Bhutto, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf are known to approach their peer (spiritual leader) to drive away evil influence from their lives and keep their government intact," says Ameen Mashahdi, senior leader of Majlis-e-Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM).

He argues that instead of making law, a turnaround is possible only by inculcating sense in people by fine-tuning the education system.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader Asim Makhdoom says that gullibility and detachment from basic principles of Islam are the points exploited by alleged spiritual gurus and this opens the floodgates of money-minting for them.

"How can there be legislation when those who are at the helm of affairs are themselves under the influence of faith-healing system," he remarks.

Sunni Ittehad Council President Hamid Raza underlines the need for making strict laws to keep a check on faith-healing mechanisms. "I recommend constitution of a regulatory body under Religious Affair Ministry. The Auqaf departments should establish district and tehsil level regulatory bodies comprising ulemas of all schools of thought, opinion leaders and personnel of intelligence and police in all provinces," he says and adds, "as soon as crackdowns start, fraudulent faith healers will vanish".

To begin with, first of its kind petition has been filed last month in Supreme Court to regulate faith-healing practices in the country. Petitioner and Supreme Court (SC) lawyer Dr Aslam Khaki asks government to ban faith-healing services until it establishes a body like PMDC in health to curb the unabated business of quack faith healers.

The petition urges upon Press Council of Pakistan and PEMRA to keep offline all programmes and advertisements that promote fake spiritual business. It also calls for such directions by Supreme Court to Press Council of Pakistan to discourage advertisements in print media.