NEW DELHI: After a Mumbai lawmaker last week demanded that
Jinnah House in Mumbai be demolished ,
Pakistan yesterday said India "should respect the ownership rights of the government of Pakistan" on the property , The Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan's foreign office yesterday said yesterday that
Jinnah House was a historic property for Pakistan, belonged to the country's founding father and should therefore "be handed over" to Pakistan.
That's not what how
BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha sees the building.
"The Jinnah residence in south Mumbai was the place from where the conspiracy of the Partition was hatched. Jinnah House is a symbol of the partition. The structure should be demolished," Lodha said on Saturday.
The Express Tribune said that people in Pakistan consider Lodha's demand "absurd".
"The Jinnah House in Mumbai was the residence with ownership of the father of the nation, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah," said Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Nafees Zakria yesterday.
"The government of India should respect the ownership rights of the government of Pakistan in this regard. We also expect that the Indian government will fulfil its obligation of protecting that property and its upkeep," he added.
Zakria further said Pakistan has already taken up the issue with Indian authorities. He added that India "promised" it will hand over the prime South Mumbai (
Malabar Hill
) property but has "not fulfilled its commitment as yet."
Lodha, the Mumbai BJP legislator, says though that with the recent passage of the Enemy Property Act, Jinnah's heirs cannot stake claim to the property, PTI reported. The Act, passed on March 14, says that successors of those who migrated to Pakistan and China during partition will have no claim over the properties left behind in India.
In addition, he said that Mumbai's public works department "is responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the building and lakhs of rupees is spend over this" and that cannot go on.
"The structure should be demolished and a cultural centre highlighting Maharashtra's culture and pride should be built. The cultural centre should also exhibit the glorious history of India," Lodha said.