Protecting national heritage: Ziarat residency to be rebuilt in a few months

Interior ministry to devise new security plan for Balochistan heritage sites.

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Sunday pledged to rebuild Quaid-e-Azam’s residency in Ziarat a day after militants destroyed a major part of it in a fire.

The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. Nisar, who toured the damaged site on Sunday along with Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, pledged it would be rebuilt within a period of three to four months.

Talking to the media, Nisar said that the residency was a national asset and expressed grief over its destruction. The National Heritage Division was tasked with revamping the structure within three to four months, officials said. After its reconstruction, they said, the residency will continue to catch the attention of tourists.

Pervaiz Rashid directed the Jinnah’s residency officials to assess damage and reconstruction costs, Principal Information Officer Imran Gardezi said. 

Lax security

Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, who visited the site along with Senator Pervaiz Rashid and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Sunday, said that it was unfortunate that only one policeman was posted at the residency during the daytime. Bizenjo announced that both the federal and provincial governments will provide security to the national heritage sites in Balochistan.

“Militants are destroying the national heritage in Balochistan. This is a cowardly act,” he said.

Meanwhile, interior ministry officials told The Express Tribune that the security squad comprising Frontier Corps personnel at Quaid-e-Azam’s Ziarat residency has been changed and that the security plan had been revamped.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2013.