KARACHI:
Let me admit my ignorance that even at this old age I was unaware that the corps commander’s house in Lahore, badly vandalised and burnt, on 9th May, was once inhabited by the Father of the Nation, Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. It is beyond my imagination to comprehend why the Punjab Police were absent from the scene. It appears that the mob or PTI followers were allowed to vandalise or set on fire such a precious historic building.
Was it a trap for PTI is a question that will always remain obscure and unanswered. However, I can say one thing with certainty that no one in the crowd knew about the historic importance of the corps commander’s house. Had someone simply announced on a hand-held mike that this house is Jinnah House and Corps Commander is a temporary resident here, I have no doubt in my mind that the strayed elements would have abstained from doing what they did.
May Allah bring some sanity in our elite class to realise the gravity of the cataclysm gripping Pakistan these days in the wake of an existential threat clearly written on the wall! Although it is not an apt occasion to quote any sher but the Supreme Court’s judgement declaring Imran Khan’s arrest as unlawful has prompted me to stick to my compelling passion.
Na aseeri hai na rihaee hai
Us nai apna bana kai chorh diya
Haroon Rashid Siddiqi
Canada
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2023.
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