Located in a prime area of Karachi, Flagstaff House was purchased by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1943 as his personal residence. However he did not live in the house as he had to move into the Governor General House when Pakistan came into being in 1947. Jinnah’s sister Fatima Jinnah lived in Flagstaff House until 1964. In 1984 the Chief Justice High Court of Sindh at Karachi accepted the offer of the Government of Pakistan to purchase Flagstaff House and convert it into a National Museum.
Mr. Liaquat Merchant and Syed Hashim Raza as Administrators of the State of Quaid-e-Azam were authorized to sell and transfer the property to the Government of Pakistan by the Chief Justice who by his order directed that (i) the property would be restored to its original condition at the cost of the Federal Government (ii) no part of the property would be sold or used for any commercial purposes and (iii) the property would house (a) Jinnah Library, (b) an Audio-Visual Center and (c) a Museum which would display the historical relics and possessions of Mr. Jinnah.
The property would be preserved and used in keeping with the dignity of the Quaid-e-Azam. Accordingly, a Sale Deed was signed by Syed Hashim Raza and Liaquat Merchant in favour of the Federal Government of Pakistan who became the Owners of this property but a Library called “Jinnah Library” could not be established and also not established was an Audio-Visual Centre.
The Government of Pakistan did restore the property to its original condition and set up a Museum in Flagstaff House. The Sale Deed has the same conditions as the order of the High Court of Sindh. After the passing of 18th Amendment, the ownership of the property passed to the Provincial Government of Sindh and it was after this that interest was generated by Lt. Gen (now retired) Humayun Aziz then Corps Commander, Corps 5, Karachi and Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah to upgrade Flagstaff House and use it for the purposes enumerated in the order of Chief Justice High Court of Sindh at Karachi and the Sale Deed.
With the active support of the then Lt. General Humayun Aziz and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah an MOU was signed between the Government of Sindh, The Jinnah Society and Karachi Council on Foreign Relations to develop and use the property for the aforesaid three purposes with the intention of spreading information and knowledge of Pakistan and its leaders to the people of Pakistan particularly the younger generation.
A majority of the population of Pakistan is under the age of 35-40 years whereas the Pakistan movement took place much prior to 1947 and most of the citizens of Pakistan are unaware of the reasons for the creation of Pakistan what it was intended to achieve and why the idea of Pakistan will never die. It is for this reason that the three sponsors named above represented by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Mr. Liaquat Merchant and Mr. Ikram Sehgal joined hands to set up what is now popularly known “Quaid-e- Azam House Museum – Institute of Nation Building”.
The object of Nation Building has always been upper most in the minds of Liaquat Merchant and Ikram Sehgal and they found a willing partner in Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah. Following the tripartite agreement relating to Quaid-e-Azam House Museum – Institute of Nation Building, the Sindh Government issued an official Notification in April, 2021 constituting a Board of Management for Quaid-e-Azam House Museum while the Chief Minister announced a grant of Rs. 200 million as an Endowment Fund for the Museum provided the profit earned on investment in Government Securities would be used for all the events and activities at Quaid-e-Azam House Museum.
The Government of Sindh very recently released the sum of Rs. 200 million as the Endowment Fund for Quaid-e-Azam House Museum by depositing the same in National Bank of Pakistan in the account of “Board of Management Quaid-e-Azam House Museum”. These funds will now be utilized for investment in Government Securities and the profit earned thereon will be used by the Board of Management and its Managing Committees for improvements and refurbishment at Quaid-e-Azam House Museum and for events and activities to spread the message of Pakistan and its leaders with particular reference to the principles, ideals and vision of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah to the people of Pakistan and particularly the younger generation of students in schools, colleges and universities primarily as a Nation Building exercise.
The Board of Management and its Managing Committees will set up a Jinnah Library and Audio-Visual Centre in the outhouses after refurbishment and repairs and will hold regular programs including elocution, declamation, debating, dramas, speeches and film shows all of which will relate to the struggle for the achievement of Pakistan and the vision of Mr. Jinnah and other leaders who followed him as well as issues that will develop unity, faith and discipline in the minds and hearts of younger generation of Pakistanis.
The promotors of the Quaid-e-Azam House Museum – Institute of Nation Building are convinced that with unity in our ranks, faith in God and ourselves and discipline in our lives and actions will help to build a Nation which is disciplined and which will work towards achieving progress and prosperity in Pakistan.
The message why Pakistan came into being and why the idea of Pakistan will never die will be instilled in the hearts and minds of the younger general so that they may all grow up with a deep sense of patriotism, discipline and conviction that Pakistan cannot survive without them in much the same way as we the citizens of Pakistan cannot survive without the continued existence of Pakistan.
The only way forward to achieve all this is to indulge in efforts towards Nation Building on a war footing. There is no other way to achieve quick success in developing a strong, disciplined and resilient Nation determined to move towards peace, progress and prosperity. Most importantly, the efforts initiated by the Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Liaquat Merchant and Ikram Sehgal need the full backing and support of the people of Pakistan and this is what we all look forward to doing.
