Barkat Hall restoration completed

LAHORE : Punjab Walled Cities Heritage Area Authority (PWCHAA) has completed conservation and restoration of historical Barkat Ali Islamia Hall.

Barkat Ali Islamia Hall’s historic building is located on the Circular Road near Mochi Gate and is associated with the politics of pre-partition Punjab.

This building was named after Khan Bahadur Barkat Ali Khan, a famous member of nobility of Lahore, and its construction started in 1888.

Khan Bahadur Barkat Ali Khan was the founder of “Anjuman Islamia Punjab “ and this organisation purchased land to construct a building so that Muslims would be provided a place for public/political gatherings. Later on after the death of Barkat Ali Khan in 1905, the Anjuman decided to change the name as “Barkat Ali Islamia Hall” and a plaque erected at the façade of the building with the date 1905. In 1912, a reading room was established in Hall where Urdu and English newspaper & Magazines were kept to read. This building was among those first buildings where electricity came when it was introduced in Lahore in 1912.

Nearly All the famous Muslim leaders addressed in this hall before partition like Quaid-e-Azam, Allama Iqbal and Maulana Zafar Ali khan.

Over time, Barkat Ali Islamia Hall, like many other heritage sites has faced challenges such as encroachment, vandalism, and neglect. The building was closed since the last 20 years and the structure of the building was deteriorated.

The ownership of the building was with Auqaf Department but PWCHAA approached the Auqaf Department in 2022 for collaboration in the conservation of the building. The conservation work of this historical building was taken up by PWCHA in November 2021 at the cost of Rs 20.2million. The details of conservational works were consolidation of the structure and beams, restoration of the façade of the building, cracks refilling, plaster, sewage and electricity works. This building was now ready for inauguration and adaptive reuse and a consultant has been hired by the authority to do the interior re-do of the Barkat Ali Islamia Hall. Director General, PWCHA Kamran Lashari, said that the restoration of buildings of such historical importance was an important step but more important would be to connect this building with the people. It will soon be used for literary and cultural activities.

Tania Qureshi, Director Media, Tourism & culture said PWCHA was working on many historic buildings in Lahore like Bradlaugh Hall, Tomb of Anarkali and etc with a vision to revive our history and conserve the sites for future generations and PWCHAA has planned to conduct several events in this newly restored building.