Corps Commander House, Lahore
General information
Address Bungalow No. 53, Lahore
Cantonment, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Completed 1943; 80 years ago
Owner Mohan Lal Bashin (until 1943)
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1943–1948)
Pakistan Army (1948-present)
The Corps Commander House is a historical bungalow in Lahore Cantonment. It is the official residence of the Lahore Corps Commander.
History.
In 1943, Muhammad Ali Jinnah acquired the property from Mohan Lal Bashin.
Jinnah died in 1948. Following his death, the property was handed over to his representative, Shahbaz, the father of Syed Babar Ali, in January 1948, having previously been requisitioned by the British Army.Later, in the same year, the Pakistan Army reasserted control over the property, offering a monthly rent of Rs 500. Since then, the property serves as the official residence for the Corps Commander of Lahore.
In 2007, the Federal Board of Revenue
unearthed historical documentation revealing that Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, once owned the Corps Commander House in Lahore.
The revelation ignited a dispute between the military and civilian administrations, as the army staunchly resisted relinquishing their entitlement to the property.
According to the Pakistan Army, the property was acquired by them from Fatima
Jinnah, Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s sister, for Rs. 3,50,000.
Damage on May 9th, 2023
On May 9th, 2023, Imran Khan was arrested, stirring nationwide violence.During the ensuing violence, the building and its contents were damaged. The official government and the ex-Prime Minister claims of the causes and culprits behind the violence are in disagreement with each other.
Government claims
According to a press release from Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of Pakistan Army, Khan’s arrest was legal. Immediately after the arrest, an organized plan was carried out to attack property and installations of the army, while chanting slogans against the forces. The army observed extreme patience, prudence, and restraint.
Imran Khan’s claims.
In an interview with Fareed Zakaria, the former prime minister Imran Khan claimed that the incident of damages, arson and violence were a reaction and possibly a conspiracy. In various other video presentations, he also claimed that security apparatus was also involved in the incitement if not carrying out of the arson and violence.
Source:dawn.com/news
Handing over of the Jinnah House in Mumbai to convert it into a museum may have been Pakistan’s demand for decades but the Pakistan Army has no problem with converting the equally palatial residence of M.A . Jinnah in Lahore as the residence for its Corps Commander. Source: en.wikipedia.org
While the Jinnah House in Lahore, which the Pakistan founder bought in 1943 from a Hindu, Mohan Lal Bashin well before the Partition, should have been a national heritage it served as the residence of Lahore’s Corps Commander, The News said on Thursday. writing documents the newspaper said the house was handed over to Jinnah’s representative after his death but it was again taken over by the military and continues to keep it under its control till date.
After being requisitioned by the British Army, the property was handed over to Sayed Murtab Ali, the representative of Jinnah in January 1948.
Jinnah’s Lahore house was one of the three major properties bought by the Qaid before Partition. He owned similar palatial houses in Karachi and Mumbai.
While such was the state of Qaid’s houses in its own backyard, Pakistan made the acquisition of Jinnah House in Mumbai its prime demand which it later linked to the reopening of the Consulates in Mumbai and Karachi. India, however, settled the issue by converting Jinnah House into a SAARC museum, which would be developed in the coming years.
Source: hindustantimes.com
