Life for historic presses comes to a full stop

All documents were printed on machines that are now lying as junk in the Sindh Printing Press.

KARACHI: What does the manuscript of Pakistan Resolution, appointment of Liaquat Ali Khan as prime minister, notification of Quaid-e-Azam’s death and order of the first national holiday of Pakistan have in common?

All these documents were printed on machines that are now lying as junk in the Sindh Printing Press.

These machines, which are at least 163 years old, have not only witnessed events that became part of our history, but they also helped preserve them for future generations of Pakistanis.

“A plan was chalked out two years ago to build a museum where these machines will be displayed but that plan has yet to be implemented,” said Department of Archaeology Secretary Kaleem Lashari.

All historical documents that were printed on these machines before 1972 have been taken into custody by the Archaeology Department.

Archives Director Iqbal Nafees Khan said, “We have preserved those documents that were of historical significance and we are building a Freedom Gallery where all these documents will be exhibited.”

Provincial Minister for Industries and Commerce Rauf Siddiqi assured that a printing museum will be built, where these machines will be preserved. These printing machines were bought in the year 1847, when Sindh Printing Press was established.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2010.