Historic Liaquat Bagh in shambles

PHA blames political gatherings for deterioration

RAWALPINDI:

The historic Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi is facing severe deterioration, with the walking track, benches, and electrical infrastructure in shambles right under the Parks and Horticulture Authority’s (PHA) nose.

Questions are being raised about the PHA’s performance in maintaining the park.

Hitherto known as Company Bagh, the park holds historical significance, having hosted speeches by leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Lala Lajpat Rai, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Kitchlew, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan and others. It was a venue for various activities, including wrestling, exercise, kabaddi, and cultural events.

In 1920, a wrestling arena was built at the Company Bagh by Ustad Abdul Ghani. The park witnessed significant historical events, such as the Liaquat Ali Khan assassination in 1951 and the Benazir Bhutto assassination in 2007.

Its name was changed to Liaquat Bagh after Liaquat Ali Khan’s murder.

During the tenure of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a public rally was convened in the famous Liaquat Bagh, and a shooting broke out, resulting in several deaths and injuries.

Despite being damaged during the construction of the Committee Chowk underpass in 2004, the park was reopened in 2005 by the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA).

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Currently, the park is in a state of neglect, with the wrestling arena in disrepair, sanitation issues, and damaged pathways. There are safety concerns due to dangling electrical wires.

PHA Director General Ahmed Hasan Ranjha attributes the park's deterioration to political gatherings causing damage. He claims that once the political rally season concludes, PHA will develop a strategy to rehabilitate Historical Liaquat Bagh.

Last year, former prime minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Benazir Bhutto’s monument was planned to be constructed at Liaquat Bagh. In the last 16 years, PPP workers and leaders have been making announcements to construct the monument at the site.

Though the PPP was a collation partner in the province and at the Centre at the time, the project was the brainchild of Rawalpindi Division Commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal and the Rawalpindi Municipal Corporation (RMC) had to bear its cost.

However, the project is unable to see the light of the day.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2023.