Has Pakistan which celebrated the Pakistan Day on Mar 23, forgotten its founder Jinnah’s birth place? The answer to this question is a resounding yes, says a front page report in Karachi daily, The Express Tribune, which has published a photograph of sewage filled street in front of Jinnah’s family home.
Former Jinnah family home is currently called the Quaid-i-Azam Birthplace Museum.
Pakistan Day (Yaum-e-Pakistan) or Pakistan Resolution Day as it is called, is the Republic Day of the land of pure. The day celebrates the adoption on 23 March 1940 of the Pakistan resolution by the Muslim League at the Minar-e-Pakistan (Pakistan Tower in Lahore). It was on this day in 1956 that Pakistan adopted its first constitution making the country the world’s first Islamic republic.
“The road in front of Wazir Mansion, the stately home of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in Kharadar, is filled with sewage year round and the situation was no different on March 23,”Mudaser Kazi’s dispatch says. And adds: “In a scene eerily reminiscent of the state of the country, the street in front of the birthplace of Pakistan’s founder is inundated with sewage, even on Pakistan Day.”
“He (Jinnah) gave us this country and we can’t even take care of the street outside his residence, which remains inundated throughout the year,” Rafiq Ahmed, a former resident of the area adjoining the building, told the Express Tribune.
Did any big leader visit the street and the Museum on Pakistan Day?
The answer is a resounding no.
Residents of the area requested the sanitary staff to drain the water as VIPs and celebrities were expected to visit the building. However, neither any government official nor any VIP came to visit the birthplace of the founder on Pakistan Day, Rafiq lamented, pointing his hand towards the water accumulated on the road and the potholes.
The daily gave no reasons for leaders and officials giving a miss to Quaid-i-Azam Birthplace Museum.
Sewage situation gets worse in the area during monsoon, according to Asif Khan, who works in a school adjacent to the iconic landmark. There is no proper drainage system in the area, and this has compounded the problem.
Criticising officials for neglecting the area, he told Express Tribune that the state of the street was quite terrible all year round. He explained that the sewerage lines are comparatively lower in the area where the old building has been built, whereas most pipelines are on a higher level and have a water pump situated area whereas the sewerage line is on higher level where the water pump is. If the water pump is not functioning, then sewage flows onto the road.
Sewage floods the road from around 12pm to 3pm and takes the entire day to drain out before the cycle is repeated.
Well, officials responsible for upkeep around Quaid-i-Azam Birthplace Museum should have cleaned the road on Pakistan Day as a token of respect for the founder of the nation. But they have not.
“We have taken notice of the issue and we will remove the water from the area,” the Express Tribune quoted Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro as saying. However, the situation remained unchanged despite the minister’s claims of cleaning when The Express Tribune visited the area.
No surprise, cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan says apprehensions of Quaid-e-Azam can be seen in Pakistan today where there are more challenges than in European countries.
“Today’s Pakistan mirrors Quaid’s concerns,” he said in a media interaction on Pakistan Day. Imran’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, (PTI), is gearing up for general elections slated for later this year.