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KARACHI: As rising inflation, high livestock prices and urban living constraints make individual qurbani increasingly expensive and cumbersome, more Karachiites are turning to ijtimai qurbani (collective sacrifice), which charities and madressahs say continues to attract people from various income groups as a relatively affordable and convenient way to fulfil the religious obligation.
Remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis also play a vital role in keeping up with the tradition of collective sacrifice as they either wire money directly to charities or to their families to fulfil the religious obligation on their behalf.
The practice is particularly popular in urban centres such as Karachi, where many families live in densely populated neighbourhoods or apartment buildings and face difficulties in keeping, handling and slaughtering animals.
In contrast, organisations offering collective sacrifice, or groups arranging it, handle the purchase of animals, slaughter, meat distribution, and waste disposal, offering greater convenience to participants.
