International - India & World   

Report on Jinnah House incorrect: Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry termed “incorrect” a report that it had abandoned claims on the Mumbai home of the country’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry said opening the Mumbai consulate in Jinnah House was a “longstanding decision” of the Pakistan government, but India had not acceded to its request for leasing the property.

“The spokesman emphasised that Pakistan maintains its interest in leasing Jinnah House for the proposed consulate. Our efforts to find another premises in Mumbai in the meanwhile have also not succeeded,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The clarification came after a report in The News on Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry had “surrendered” claims on the property.

The report quoted spokesman Mohammed Sadiq as saying “Pakistan government has abandoned the idea” of opening a consulate in the palatial property located in South Mumbai.

The newspaper said Jinnah’s daughter Dina Wadia, and her son, industrialist Nusli Wadia, had recently challenged the Indian government’s claim to the house, and had approached the government for the official papers on the ownership of the mansion.

Their request had been rejected on the ground that it would “affect relations with a foreign state or lead to incitement of an offence.”

Quoting sources in the Pakistan Foreign Ministry, the report said Islamabad was not planning to back the Wadias. It could not become a party to the dispute as it had been told by the Indian government that as there was no legal heir to the property, it was being treated as “evacuee property.”

The Foreign Ministry said the report was “incorrect.”

With the reopening of the Mumbai consulate held up over Pakistan’s inability to find an alternative to Jinnah House, the Indian consulate in Karachi too remains shut down, causing immense hardship to Indian visa-seekers in Sindh province. Most are from divided families.

At present, they have to travel to Islamabad to apply for their visas at the Indian High Commission here or courier their applications.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

National government idea finds no takers in Pakistan
10 killed in attack on Sri Lanka village
Pro-Thaksin party’s legality upheld
Have money, migrate to Britain
Osama’s son wants to be a peace envoy
Burns to resign in March
German teenager off to Siberia
Teacher found dead
CII team to have special meeting with Sarkozy in Paris
Report on Jinnah House incorrect: Pakistan
Qatar ban
India in seeming protocol fix as Nicolas Sarkozy’s state visit nears

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu