PTI lawmaker rips away veils shrouding Teen Talwar
KCCI advertisement covering iconic Clifton monument angered residents
Residents didn’t welcome the monument’s covering up. PHOTO: EXPRESS
KARACHI:
Clifton residents awoke on Thursday morning to see the white-marbled Teen Talwar monument shrouded by a colourful eyesore - an advertisement for the ‘My Karachi Oasis of Harmony’ exhibition organised by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
The iconic three swords inscribed with Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s famous three (mottos) ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’ were erected in 1974 on the directions of then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as part of his beautification campaign for the port city.
PTI worker launches 'Sleeping Beauty' campaign to highlight 'misgovernance' in Karachi
Enraged by the ‘tarnishing of a local landmark’ MPA Khurram Sher Zaman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took matters into his own hands and had the monument unwrapped.
Zaman told The Express Tribune he received multiple phone calls from constituents and friends about the advertisement covering Teen Talwar. He explained that initially he contacted the District Municipal Corporation (DMC) South but no one answered. Zaman added that when he determined that no government official is going to help him, he decided to take action.
Along with a crowd of supporters and a crane, Zaman arrived at Teen Talwar on Thursday evening and was raised up in the machine to tear down the advertisement. “One can expect this government to rent out the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam,” he said sardonically.
Regardless of whether an advertisement is for a noncommercial event, it is not justified to wrap it around a historical monument, he said.
People gathered at the spot also expressed their anger towards the government. Saleem Usman, a resident of Bath Island, said these monuments are our national assets and it seems like the government has left no part of the city untouched in its quest to fill the pockets.
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Tariq Rafiq and his friends were present at the site to support their MPA. “It is the duty of citizens to point out the [wrongs] of the city and join hands with people who are sincere in their efforts to fix it,” he said.
When contacted, DMC South administrator Nisar Ahmed Soomro said he had also sent his teams to remove the advertisements but he came to know that the work had already been done by the local MPA. The advertisers had not taken permission from the DMC to hang their advertisements, he explained.
The advertisement was for a noncommercial event, said Muhammad Idrees, chairperson of the special committee for the exhibition. He told The Express Tribune they had permission from all the relevant departments to go ahead with their campaign at Teen Talwar. The motto of our exhibition is to rebuild the image of Karachi, he stressed.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2016.
Clifton residents awoke on Thursday morning to see the white-marbled Teen Talwar monument shrouded by a colourful eyesore - an advertisement for the ‘My Karachi Oasis of Harmony’ exhibition organised by Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
The iconic three swords inscribed with Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s famous three (mottos) ‘Unity, Faith and Discipline’ were erected in 1974 on the directions of then Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as part of his beautification campaign for the port city.
PTI worker launches 'Sleeping Beauty' campaign to highlight 'misgovernance' in Karachi
Enraged by the ‘tarnishing of a local landmark’ MPA Khurram Sher Zaman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf took matters into his own hands and had the monument unwrapped.
Zaman told The Express Tribune he received multiple phone calls from constituents and friends about the advertisement covering Teen Talwar. He explained that initially he contacted the District Municipal Corporation (DMC) South but no one answered. Zaman added that when he determined that no government official is going to help him, he decided to take action.
Along with a crowd of supporters and a crane, Zaman arrived at Teen Talwar on Thursday evening and was raised up in the machine to tear down the advertisement. “One can expect this government to rent out the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam,” he said sardonically.
Regardless of whether an advertisement is for a noncommercial event, it is not justified to wrap it around a historical monument, he said.
People gathered at the spot also expressed their anger towards the government. Saleem Usman, a resident of Bath Island, said these monuments are our national assets and it seems like the government has left no part of the city untouched in its quest to fill the pockets.
Is it game over for Imran Khan and PTI?
Tariq Rafiq and his friends were present at the site to support their MPA. “It is the duty of citizens to point out the [wrongs] of the city and join hands with people who are sincere in their efforts to fix it,” he said.
When contacted, DMC South administrator Nisar Ahmed Soomro said he had also sent his teams to remove the advertisements but he came to know that the work had already been done by the local MPA. The advertisers had not taken permission from the DMC to hang their advertisements, he explained.
The advertisement was for a noncommercial event, said Muhammad Idrees, chairperson of the special committee for the exhibition. He told The Express Tribune they had permission from all the relevant departments to go ahead with their campaign at Teen Talwar. The motto of our exhibition is to rebuild the image of Karachi, he stressed.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 25th, 2016.