Militants blew up Jinnah's residency in Ziarat on Saturday. PHOTO : AFP
Militants blew up Jinnah's residency in Ziarat on Saturday, the building where Quaid spent the last days of his life with his sister Fatima Jinnah in 1948, a year after Pakistan came into being.
Senator Mir Hasil Bizanjo, Minister for Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage Pervez Rashid and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan announced reconstruction of the historic monument during a visit to the site.
Bizanjo said Quaid's belongings including his bed, chair, pillow and stick have been completely destroyed.
He said it was unfortunate that only one police man was deployed at the site during daytime.
“Militants are now destroying heritage sites of national importance in Balochistan. It's a cowardly act," Bizanjo observed.
Both the federal and provincial government will provide security to national heritage sites in Balochistan, Bizanjo told The Express Tribune.
The National Heritage Division will reconstruct the residency within three to four months, officials said. The decision was taken to restore the historical site to its original glory.
The residency will be rebuilt keeping tourism in mind. The surrounding of the building will also be developed.
Rashid directed Awan-e-Quaid-i-Azam officials to assess the damage caused and the cost of reconstruction, Principal Information Officer Imran Gardezi said.
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My comment regarding rebuiding the raam mandir keeps on being censored! I guess ET thinks it will hurt Indian feelings..:/
If government really wants the world to see us as one nation ... they must inaugurate the restored building by hanging the culprits in its front yard. This will give a clear message that the spirit hasn't died and we are well capable of defending our ideology and forefathers memories for our next generations. If this is not done and only building is restored then you should be ready for the next and many attacks to come ....
This should be done.
@Prabhjyot Singh Madan: Dear Sir! I respect and salutes your sentiments for Quiad i Azam Muhammad ali Jinnah from core of my heart. People like you are the real essence of this world who spread their fragrence of their lovely and beautiful thougts without any discrimination of religion, cast and creed. Muhammad Zaki, quetta. Balochistan.
Only ONE policeman was stationed there who lost his life in the attack!! I mean seriously, One man to protect a national heritage building?? UNBELIEVABLE!!! Don't bother re-building it - its gone and all the Quaid's belongings are gone - you're gonna re-build those too? And not one member of LeJ will be arrested let alone the leader cause noon league is buddies with them! Quaid's Pakistan was destroyed a long time ago.
I am sure the Baloch freedom fighters will welcome rebuilding this structure. That will present them with a perpetual target each time it is rebuilt.
Seriously, it is wasteful to spend the money to rebuild it in the same place, where people who feel thy are not Pakistanis, and who hate Jinnah for annexing their land with force. Why not move the whole thing to Punjab and rebuild it there?
Henceforth, the increased security protocol will make it incovenient for the visitors and tourists.
Unfortunately, Balochistan has already lost much of the tourist and shopping attraction post August 26, 2006.
You can rebuild the symbolic property, but obviously not the 25 Pakistani lives and their families' Pakistani dreams, which were shattered soon after, apart from the tens of thousands of lives lost in violence earlier.
There is apparently no patriotic or nationalist zeal to safeguard those lives and their futures, just abstract rhetoric on Jinnah's vision.
@Shahid You very aptly described "terrorists"; thats precisely been our interpretation of Kashmiri (so called) muhjahideens. Well, now you know.....
@Shahid: Are you the good example of putting th view point peacefully?
Rex Minor
Mr.Jinnah's residency os safe in mumbai INDIA
@stevenson:
the concept of nationhood among Pakistanis of today are not the same as jinnah's idea. lots of pakistanis are mulana maududi's ideological children & not jinnah's. neither was jinnah acceptable to all pakistanis right after the country's birth. the founding father himself alienated east pakistanis by trying to push Urdu language down their throat. similarly baloch people seem to have disagreements with his ideas.
They can destroy the buildings but not the Quaid-e-Azam living in each and every Pakistani's heart!
Predictable, the Indians don't want us to rebuild the residency... Amazing!
Indians please stay away from Pakistani news paper sites. God have mercy on Pakistan and save us from these scary Indians and their terrorists.
this is what we call it the lack of law and order, chaudry sahib rebulding the structure is not the solution of the problem. If you know who did it at least listen to their demands what they want, why they are resorting to this method .
Rebuild the structure and go into details for jinnahs belongings there. I am an Indian and I might disagree with the man but heritage is a heritage and it belongs to the people of ziarat, Pakistan and the world. Rab rakha
We must built and protect "Jinnah's Residency" at any cost.
Pakistaniswill never allow to hurt the sentiments of entire nation.
@rajat: I disagree with you - a building or thing is not Jinnah's idea. The nation rests in the heart and souls of its people. The cowards who destroyed a building have only made Pakistanis more commited to bring to justice anti state cowards who take orders from outside agencies. Not only shold the building be rebuild, it will serve as a focus for rebulding the whole province. It has been heartening to see the whole nation, especially Baluch speak out against this type of cowardly act.
It is an attack on Jinnah's residence or an attack on the founding ideology?
The Quaid's real home(this nation) is also destroyed. Please rebuilt it too.
Rebuilding the structure will not make it jinnah's residency. it will be some other building retaining the old name. it would be like jinnah's pakistan... which broke up in 1971. you have a new country today...half of the original... which is nothing like jinnah's pakistan of 1947.
No, don't build it only to be burnt down again. Fix the problems, punish those who burnt it down, set examples, and then rebuild it!
That's why people like Akbar Bughti deserve their fate. Peaceful activists don't have rocket launchers and grenades Either you put forward your point peacefully, or you're a terrorist!
It is shameful and heart breaking . I have no words to express my grief.
They should at least turn it into a museum. That will be better!!