Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures

A visitor takes a picture with his mobile phone of historical building
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A visitor takes a picture with his mobile phone of historical building "Mohatta Palace," which was built in 1920s and has since been turned into a museum, in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP)
Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
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A worker moves a peacock from the lawn of historical building "Mohatta Palace," which was built in 1920s and has since been turned into a museum, in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP)
Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
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Peacocks roam on the lawn of historical building "Mohatta Palace," which was built in 1920s and have since been turned into a museum, in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP)
Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
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Motorcyclists drive on a road with old buildings in downtown Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP)
Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
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Nasreen Askari, director of the museum set up in historical building, "Mohatta Palace," poses for a photo in Karachi, Pakistan, Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP)
Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
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A view of a residential area is seen with skyscrapers in the background in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 16 September 2024
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Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures

Traces of this Pakistani megacity’s past are vanishing, but one flamboyant pink palace endures
  • Karachi’s population grows by around 2 percent every year and with dozens of communities and cultures competing for space there’s little effort to protect the city’s historic sites

KARACHI, Pakistan: Stained glass windows, a sweeping staircase and embellished interiors make Mohatta Palace a gem in Karachi, a Pakistani megacity of 20 million people. Peacocks roam the lawn and the sounds of construction and traffic melt away as visitors enter the grounds.
The pink stone balustrades, domes and parapets look like they’ve been plucked from the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, a relic of a time when Muslims and Hindus lived side by side in the port city.
But magnificence is no guarantee of survival in a city where land is scarce and development is rampant. Demolition, encroachment, neglect, piecemeal conservation laws and vandalism are eroding signs of Karachi’s past.
The building’s trustees have fended off an attempt to turn it into a dental college, but there’s still a decadeslong lawsuit in which heirs of a former owner are trying to take control of the land. It sat empty for almost two decades before formally opening as a museum in 1999.
The palace sits on prime real estate in the desirable neighborhood of Old Clifton, among mansions, businesses and upmarket restaurants.
The land under buildings like the Mohatta Palace is widely coveted, said palace lawyer Faisal Siddiqi. “It shows that greed is more important than heritage.”
Karachi’s population grows by around 2 percent every year and with dozens of communities and cultures competing for space there’s little effort to protect the city’s historic sites.
For most Pakistanis, the palace is the closest they’ll get to the architectural splendor of India’s Rajasthan, because travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people in either country from crossing the border for leisure, study or work.
Karachi’s multicultural past makes it harder to find champions for preservation than in a city like Lahore, with its strong connection to the Muslim-dominated Mughal Empire, said Heba Hashmi, a heritage manager and maritime archaeologist.
“The scale of organic local community support needed to prioritize government investment in the preservation effort is nearly impossible to garner in a city as socially fragmented as Karachi,” she said.
Mohatta Palace is a symbol of that diversity. Hindu entrepreneur Shivratan Mohatta had it built in the 1920s because he wanted a coastal residence for his ailing wife to benefit from the Arabian Sea breeze. Hundreds of donkey carts carried the distinctively colored pink stone from Jodhpur, now across the border in India.
He left after partition in 1947, when India and Pakistan were carved from the former British Empire as independent nations, and for a time the palace was occupied by the Foreign Ministry.
Next, it passed into the hands of Pakistani political royalty as the home of Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Pakistan’s first leader and a powerful politician in her own right.
After her death, the authorities gave the building to her sister Shirin, but Shirin’s passing in 1980 sparked a court fight between people saying they were her relatives, and a court ordered the building sealed.
The darkened and empty palace, with its overgrown gardens and padlocked gates, caught people’s imagination. Rumors spread of spirits and supernatural happenings.
Someone who heard the stories as a young girl was Nasreen Askari, now the museum’s director.
“As a child I used to rush past,” she said. “I was told it was a bhoot (ghost) bungalow and warned, don’t go there.”
Visitor Ahmed Tariq had heard a lot about the palace’s architecture and history. “I’m from Bahawalpur (in Punjab, India) where we have the Noor Mahal palace, so I wanted to look at this one. It’s well-maintained, there’s a lot of detail and effort in the presentations. It’s been a good experience.”
But the money to maintain the palace isn’t coming from admission fees.
General admission is 30 rupees, or 10 US cents, and it’s free for students, children and seniors. On a sweltering afternoon, the palace drew just a trickle of visitors.
It’s open Tuesday to Sunday but closes on public holidays; even the 11 a.m.-6 p.m. hours are not conducive for a late-night city like Karachi.
The palace is rented out for corporate and charitable events. Local media report that residents grumble about traffic and noise levels.
But the palace doesn’t welcome all attention, even if it could help carve out a space for the building in modern Pakistan.
Rumors about ghosts still spread by TikTok, pulling in influencers looking for spooky stories. But the palace bans filming inside, and briefly banned TikTokers.
“It is not the attention the trustees wanted,” said Askari. “That’s what happens when you have anything of consequence or unusual. It catches the eye.”
A sign on the gates also prohibits fashion shoots, weddings and filming for commercials.
“We could make so much money, but the floodgates would open,” said Askari. “There would be non-stop weddings and no space for visitors or events, so much cleaning up as well.”
Hashmi, the archaeologist, said there is often a strong sense of territorialism around the sites that have been preserved.
“It counterproductively converts a site of public heritage into an exclusive and often expensive artifact for selective consumption.”

 


Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate

Updated 3 sec ago
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Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate

Trump says would destroy Iran if it ‘harms’ a US election candidate
“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities“

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said Wednesday Iran should be blown “to smithereens” if the Islamic republic is involved in the harming of a US White House candidate or ex-president.
The provocative remarks come after American intelligence warned of threats from Tehran against the Republican’s life after two apparent assassination bids in recent months.
“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of, and they may or may not involve — but possibly do — Iran,” Trump said at a campaign event in North Carolina.
“If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens,” he added.
Trump went on to say he and the United States have been “threatened very directly by Iran” and that a firm message needed to reach Tehran that there would be the most severe consequences should it be involved in plots to kill or hurt an American president or candidate.
“The best way to do it is through the office of the president, that (if) you do any attacks on former presidents or candidates for president, your country gets blown to smithereens, as we say.”
Trump also said it was “strange” that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was in New York this week and accorded substantial protection as he attends the United Nations General Assembly even as news of the threats emerged.
“We have large security forces guarding him, and yet they’re threatening our former president and the leading candidate to become the next president of the United States,” Trump said.
The remarks come as world leaders scramble to try to avert hostilities between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel escalating into a wider regional war.
Iran has rejected accusations it is trying to kill Trump this summer, shortly after a gunman opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, killing one person and wounding the presidential candidate.
Days later, Trump posted on social media that if Iran did kill him, “I hope that America obliterates Iran, wipes it off the face of the Earth.”
On Wednesday, the 78-year-old Trump suggested the would-be assassin in Pennsylvania had used “potentially foreign-based apps,” and that the alleged gunman in Florida had multiple mobile phones that Trump said US authorities have been unable to open.
“They must get Apple to open these foreign apps (and) open the six phones from the second lunatic,” Trump said. “Because we have a lot at stake.”

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace
Updated 25 September 2024
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Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace

Ukraine urges world leaders not to seek ‘an out’ from Russia’s war instead of true peace
  • “Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” Zelensky said
  • “Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored

UNITED NATIONS: Ukraine’s president urged global leaders Wednesday to stand with his country and not seek “an out” instead of a “real, just peace” more than two years into Russia’s war.
At a time when he faces growing pressure from Western allies and some of his fellow Ukrainians to negotiate a ceasefire, President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN General Assembly there’s no alternative to the “peace formula” he presented two years ago. Among other things, it seeks the expulsion of all Russian forces from Ukraine and accountability for war crimes.
“Any parallel or alternative attempts to seek peace are, in fact, efforts to achieve an out instead of an end to the war,” he said.
“Do not divide the world. Be united nations,” he implored. “And that will bring us peace.”
Russia hasn’t yet had its turn to speak at the assembly’s annual gathering of presidents, prime ministers, monarchs and other high officials. Low-level Russian diplomats occupied the country’s seats in the huge assembly hall during Zelensky’s speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending this year’s high-level meetings at the General Assembly.
The war in Ukraine was center stage the last two times that world leaders convened for the UN’s signature annual meeting. But this year, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and the escalating developments along the Israeli-Lebanese border have gotten much of the spotlight.
Ukraine and Russia, with one of the world’s most potent armies, are locked in a grinding fight along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line.
The war began when Russia invaded in February 2022 and has killed tens of thousands of people. Russia has gained momentum in Ukraine’s east; Ukraine, meanwhile, startled Russia by sending troops across the border in a daring incursion last month.
Zelensky argued Tuesday at the UN Security Council that Russia needs to ” be forced into peace,” saying there’s no point in pursuing peace talks with Putin.
In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded Wednesday that the Ukrainian president’s call for compulsion was “a fatal mistake” and “a profound misconception, which, of course, will inevitably have consequences for the Kyiv regime.”
Zelensky is expected to present a victory plan this week to US President Joe Biden.


Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt

Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt
Updated 25 September 2024
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Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt

Afghanistan wants to join BRICS, says Taliban govt
  • The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognized by any country
  • The group has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments

KABUL: Afghanistan’s Taliban government is keen to join the BRICS economic forum, a spokesman said on Tuesday ahead of the group’s summit in Russia.
The summit of emerging economies that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will meet on October 22-24 in the southwestern Russian city of Kazan.
“Countries with major resources and the world’s biggest economies are associated with the BRICS forum, especially Russia, India, and China,” said Hamdullah Fitrat, a government deputy spokesman.
“Currently, we have good economic ties and commercial exchanges with them. We are keen to expand our relations and participate in the economic forums of the BRICS,” he said.
The Taliban authorities have not been officially recognized by any country but have growing relations with founding BRICS nations including China and Russia.
The group, which has recently expanded by including Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia, has not publicly reacted to the Taliban government’s comments.
A spokesman for the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Wednesday that they have “no information so far” about an invitation to the event.
Both Moscow and Beijing have expressed their readiness to invest in commercial projects in Afghanistan and to cooperate with Taliban authorities in its fight against Daesh Khorasan, the Daesh group’s Afghanistan branch.


Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital

Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital
Updated 25 September 2024
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Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital

Indonesia breaks ground for first foreign investment projects in new capital
  • The three foreign investment projects in Nusantara were worth about $63 million
  • Indonesian government planned 80 percent of the $32-billion project to be funded by private sector

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s outgoing President Joko Widodo broke ground on Wednesday for Australian, Russian and Chinese projects in the country’s future capital Nusantara, marking the first foreign investment in his administration’s flagship $32-billion initiative.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy is relocating its capital to East Kalimantan on Borneo island to replace the overcrowded and sinking Jakarta on Java island, with the megaproject scheduled for completion in 2045.

“This morning, we broke ground for education investment from Australia. Then we also broke ground for property development by Russian investors. And … we are about to do another groundbreaking (project) for a mixed-use property development from Delonix Nusantara, from Chinese investors,” Widodo said during a livestreamed ceremony in Nusantara.

“The foreign investments that are coming in are giving us the belief and confidence that Nusantara is an extremely attractive location for investments.”

Chinese property firm Delonix Group is investing $33 million in the complex of hotels, office and community retail spaces in Nusantara.

The Australian Independent School and Russia’s property developer Magnum Estate are two other investors working with local partners and investing around $9.9 million and $19.8 million in Nusantara, respectively.

Since Widodo unveiled his plan in 2019, the new capital project has faced construction delays and struggled to attract the hoped-for foreign assignment. The mammoth undertaking is expected to mostly rely on private investors, with government funding planned to cover 20 percent of the total expenditure.

The government has so far signed many letters of intent, Widodo said, but officials are carefully choosing projects to “adjust them to the needs of Nusantara.”

The new capital that has been widely seen as the president’s attempt to seal his legacy previously received a $1.3 billion investment from a consortium of Indonesian companies.

Widodo has said he is planning to spend the last weeks of his second and final term in office there. His successor, President-Elect Prabowo Subianto, will take office on Oct. 20.


What to expect from Sri Lanka’s new 3-member cabinet

What to expect from Sri Lanka’s new 3-member cabinet
Updated 25 September 2024
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What to expect from Sri Lanka’s new 3-member cabinet

What to expect from Sri Lanka’s new 3-member cabinet
  • Cabinet consists of president and 2 MPs from his party
  • Interim setup until new parliamentary poll on Nov. 14

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has appointed the world’s smallest cabinet, with three people in charge of all ministerial portfolios — a move that experts say fulfills his key campaign promise.

The leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front) and the socialist National People’s Power alliance, Dissanayake was sworn in on Monday, shortly after being announced the winner of Saturday’s vote.

On Tuesday, he appointed his government and dissolved the parliament, clearing the way for new parliamentary elections scheduled for Nov. 14.

The three-member cabinet has Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya, lawmaker Vijitha Herath, and Dissanayake taking on ministerial portfolios.

“This development is due to politico-legal compulsions. It’s a political compulsion because the NPP whose candidate AKD has won the presidency received the mandate of the people at the just-held presidential election,” A.L.A. Azeez, foreign affairs commentator and former diplomat, told Arab News.

The legal compulsion stems from the fact that Sri Lankan government ministers are appointed from among members of parliament, and once the legislative body is dissolved, the cabinet of ministers existing prior to the dissolution continues in the interim until the parliamentary elections.

“But such an interim cabinet would have ministers who pursued policies and measures — otherwise, governed the country — which the people through the presidential election have disapproved,” Azeez said, adding that Dissanayake did not have much choice as his party had only three MPs.

“It would only be unthinkable for him to get members of parliament from other parties to constitute the interim cabinet. So, he has sought to demonstrate through this compelling development, that he has respected the will of the people, as manifested in the presidential election, and that his cabinet is purpose-driven.”

Dissanayake took over the top job in a nation reeling from the 2022 economic crisis and austerity measures imposed as a part of a bailout deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The new president will oversee defense, finance, economic development, policy formulation, planning, tourism, energy, agriculture, lands, livestock, irrigation, fisheries and aquatic resources.

The new prime minister Amarasuriya, a university lecturer and activist, will oversee justice, health, public administration, provincial councils, local government, education, science and technology, labor, women, child and youth affairs, sports, trade, commerce, food security, co-operative development, industries and entrepreneur development.

Lawmaker Herath, who had previously served as minister of cultural affairs, was assigned foreign affairs, Buddhist affairs, religious and cultural affairs, national integration, social security, mass media, transport, highways, ports and civil aviation, public security, environment, wildlife, forest resources, water supply, plantation and community, infrastructure, rural and urban development, housing and construction.

Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, political analyst and Sri Lanka’s former envoy to the UN, said the formation of Dissanayake’s mini-cabinet was “inevitable” as he had promised a new style of governance.

“Only he would have done this. Any conventional party would have had 20 cabinet ministers but AKD, the new president of the left-wing NPP, had promised to shrink the overly swollen political structure of government,” he told Arab News.

After the Nov. 14 parliamentary vote, a proper cabinet will be appointed with the composition depending on the results of the election.

The mini-cabinet will be in charge until then, supported by civil servants.

“I think the new president is relying heavily on officials. He has retained some of the key officials. He has also promoted and brought in others with solid administrative credentials,” Jayatilleka said, adding that the president’s choice of his prime minister would also appeal to the public.

“There’s an excellent choice of prime minister. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, a woman academic ... and then there’s Vijitha Herath, a popular JVP-NPP politician who has been the shadow foreign minister for many years,” he said.

“I don’t think anybody would criticize him. They would welcome the formation of a compact cabinet which is quite unlike what the conventional political parties have done and would have done so.”