Rehman wants historic Governor House to be reopened for public

Punjab governor seeks proposals from the authorities concerned in a week

LAHORE:

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar, Punjab Governor Muhammad Balighur Rehman on Thursday sought feasible proposals from the departments concerned to reopen the historic building of the Governor House Lahore for the general public.

Presiding over a meeting of the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA), the governor directed the officers concerned to deliberate upon the proposals on how to reopen the Governor House for the general public in an organised manner.

Rehman, speaking on the occasion, said the Governor House – a historical building and national heritage – has already become an attraction for people from all walks of life because of a model of Anglo-British architecture that housed many historical artifacts, including rare paintings of famous artists Ustad Allah Bakhsh and Abdul Rahman Chughtai.

He said that the doors of the Governor House were already open for students and delegations of educational institutions, but he wanted to open it to the general public in an organised manner. He asked the departments concerned to submit feasible suggestions in a week.

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Former governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar opened the doors of the Governor House for the first time in September 2018. Initially, the then governor allowed the public to enter some specific areas like the lake, lawns, and the hill, on Sundays from 10am to 6pm. All citizens having valid CNIC could visit the historic building along with their families.

WLCA Director-General Kamran Lashari, Lahore Deputy Commissioner Rafia Haider, Tourism Secretary Zaheer Hassan and Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab Managing Director Usman Ali attended the meeting. Principal Secretary to Punjab Governor Nabeel Ahmed Awan and Special Secretary to Governor Umar Saeed were also present.

Historic significance

The Governor House has unique historic significance in many ways. The building was originally constructed in 1851. Initially, it had a limited area but during the British Empire and subsequent regimes, its area was expanded by acquiring surrounding land. The building was being used as the official residence of the British Lieutenant-Governor of Punjab and following the independence of Pakistan in 1947, it was formally designated for the use of the Punjab's governor.

The Governor House has the privilege to host several heads of state, including Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, former Saudi King Shah Faisal, former US President Richard Nixon, former Indian prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former UAE president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Libyan President Mohammad Muammar Gaddafi and dozens of other leaders. It has been an official residence of governors of the province for 150 years.

In 1974, 24 heads of state, who participated in the Islamic Summit Conference, were also hosted a lunch in the Governor's House lawn for which a special dining table was designed and built.

Spreading over an area of 71.5 acres, the Governor House has another privilege that all governors, chief ministers and chief justices of the Lahore High Court took oath in this building.

The province's governor lives in one section of the building and the remaining building is being used for several other functions. It also houses Prince Wing for heads of the state, a president's room, a prime minister's room, residences for military secretaries, a governor's secretariat, and residences for the president and prime minister's staff (around 10 guest rooms) when they visit Lahore.

The historic state property has 400-year-old Darbar Hall, which is generally used for all official functions, including oath-taking ceremonies and federal cabinet meeting. It has huge lawns, a lake, hills, separate high schools for boys and girls, a market, a utility store, a mosque, police line and a residence colony for the employees of the Governor House.