Recollection: Visitors miss posing with guards at Iqbal’s mausoleum

The mausoleum and the Minar-i-Pakistan have been inaccessible to the public for almost a year

LAHORE: Visitors to Allama Muhammad Iqbal’s mausoleum recall the days when they could walk up to the structure to pose for a photograph or to say a prayer for the national poet.

They can still pose for a photo with the mausoleum in the backdrop or say a prayer from a distance but cannot go close to the structure.

“I am a great admirer of Iqbal’s poetry. I had come here to say a prayer for him but I was not allowed to enter the mausoleum,” said Asad Mirza, a college student who was visiting with his family from Gujranwala. He said his other siblings were more excited about visiting other historical sites in the area. Iqbal’s mausoleum was the only attraction for him, he said.

Other visitors said they missed posing for photographs with guards on duty in front of the mausoleum. “We used to visit the place and my children would always pose for photos standing next to the guards,” said Aliya Majeed, another visitor.

She said this time some of her relatives visiting from abroad had also come with her to the mausoleum. She said she was glad that the Lahore Fort was still open to public.  Despite heightened security at the mausoleum, the change of guards’ ceremony takes place regularly on Iqbal’s death anniversary, March 23rd and the Independence Day.

Minar-i-Pakistan is another prominent site in the area inaccessible to the general public. The grounds around the monument remain open to the public and draw large crowds on weekends. Muhammad Shahbaz, a fruit chaat vendor, says people visit the parks in droves over the weekend.

Archaeology Department Deputy Director Afzal Khan says the mausoleum and the minar were closed for the public almost a year ago over security concerns. He says security at the two sites had been put on high alert almost two years ago following the terrorist attack at the Ziarat Residency.

Khan said there were no instructions from the police regarding Badshahi Masjid and Lahore Fort – two other important sites in the vicinity. While these and other historical sites in the city remained open for the public, security measures at these sites had also been beefed up since the Ziarat residency attack, he said.

Khan said he could not give a date when the ban on entry of visitors to the mausoleum and the minar would be lifted.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 6^th, 2016.