PM inaugurates vintage cars’ display at Pakistan Monument

Islamabad: Caretaker Prime Minister Justice (r) Nasirul Mulk on Monday inaugurated the display of two vintage cars at the Pakistan Monument.

The cars were used by the country’s heads of state and government, and foreign dignitaries. The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow and the Mercedes Pullman S600 is a gift from the Prime Minister’s Office to the museum for public display.

The prime minister had taken the decision to restore and preserve the vintage cars and ordered their placement in the Museum instead of auction as proposed earlier. During the visit to the Museum, he expressed hope that the showcasing of cars would help people learn about Pakistan’s history and tradition of hospitality for foreign guests. He took round of the museum and evinced keen interest at the vintage cars declaring witness to an important part of national history.

Lok Virsa executive director Shahera Shahid said Hakkas (Pvt) Limited had volunteered to restore the cars complementarily in the spirit of preserving the valued national heritage. She expressed the confidence that the vintage cars would attract more visitors at the unique Museum which offers glimpses of history through three-dimensional dioramas.

The luxurious Mercedes Pullman S600 manufactured in 1970 was imported by the government the same year and remained in the use of President General Yahya Khan and Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

The visiting dignitaries who used it included Palestinian president Yasir Arafat, Egyptian president Anwar Saddat, Libyan President Colonel Moammar Gaddafi, Saudi King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz and several other prominent world leaders.

The Rolls Royce Silver Shadow made in 1976 was gifted by Shah Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz to then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. It remained under the used of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Prince Karim Aga Khan, Saudi Arabia’s Shah Khaklid bin Abdul Aziz, UAE’s Sheikh Sultan Bin Al Nahyan, Princess Lady Diana, Boxer Muhammad Ali and the leaders of China, Japan, Thailand, Bangladesh and Nepal.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office was set to auction off the car on June 22 but when the matter was brought to the attention of the caretaker prime minister, he ordered for the cancellation of the auction and directed that the historical cars be placed in a museum.

Three car enthusiasts, including Haris Aziz, Karim Yusuf and Moin Abbasi, had highlighted the issue and wrote to the secretary Cabinet on June 19 for the cancellation of the auction.