The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation Condemns Attack on the Ziarat Residency

18^th June 2013                        

Lahore: The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation strongly condemns the attack on the Ziarat Residency. This was the place where Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah spent the last days of his life. 

The building is an icon of Baluchistan and was declared a national monument following the Quaid’s death one year after the creation of Pakistan and held a symbolic place in the heart of every Pakistani.

It housed the personal belongings of the father of the nation; furniture, crockery and various priceless artifacts which have now been turned into ashes. This act of violence has saddened every Pakistani. 

The Ziarat Residency was more than just a building; it reminded us of the leader and the man that was Mohammed Ali Jinnah.

This was an attack on the nationalism of Pakistan and on all that Jinnah symbolized and stood for, primarily equality and the oneness of Pakistan. 

The Cecil & Iris Chaudhry Foundation demands that the Residency be rebuilt to its previous glory and that the perpetrators be brought to justice. This is the unanimous demand of every Pakistani.

Michelle Chaudhry President of the foundation stated “As we condemn these horrific acts of violence we also emphasize that the principles of Mr. Jinnah live on in the hearts of every patriotic Pakistani and no matter how many monuments they destroy, what they cannot destroy is our hope and our resolve to continue to fight for a better Pakistan; a vibrant, tolerant Pakistan – Jinnah’s Pakistan”.

More on the attack on the Ziarat residency can be found here:

http://beta.dawn.com/news/1018372/bomb-attack-destroys-quaids-residency-in-ziarat