Governor House to be opened for visits by families tomorrow

The sprawling lawn of the historical building of the Sindh Governor House and some of its other sections will be opened for visits by families on Friday, probably for the first time in the history of the province.

This was stated by Governor Imran Ismail while talking to journalists after his visit to the offices of the Citizens- Police Liaison Committee located at the Governor House on Wednesday.

In this regard, families will be given access to the Governor House from its Gate No. 1 after getting their computerised national identity cards. The visiting families will be given access to the lawns, the office used by the founder of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah as the first governor general of Pakistan, and other articles of historical nature, which were used by the first governor general of the country.

Especial tours for school-going children will be arranged enabling them to visit the Governor House and to witness the office and other personal effects of the Quaid-e-Azam preserved there. Moreover, special guided tours will be arranged to let people properly visit different important sections of the Governor House where personal effects of the Quaid-e-Azam are preserved, including the chair and the table used by him.

Governor Ismail said the federal government had constituted a committee to adopt recommendations for proper use of the palatial governor houses in the four provinces. The committee has started doing its work and the decision regarding the future use of the governor houses would be made in the light of the recommendations of the committee.

The governor said that at present he had been using just two rooms of the Governor House; one as his office and the other of the library. He said he had been using just one official car. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had been requested to visit Karachi on September 15 or 16 for the first time after becoming chief executive of the country.

Ismail also appreciated the role of the CPLC in the collection of data and other relevant information for combating crime in the city. He said the government was required to maintain utmost coordination with such non-governmental organisations for the sake of peace and law and order.

He was of the view that the menace of street crime could be overcome by keeping a strict check and maintaining up-to-date record regarding suspicious and criminal elements. A spokesman for the Governor House said that on a trial basis, the Governor House would be opened for visits by families on September 7 only. On the basis of the experiences of the first day of such visits, a schedule would be finalised for all such visits by families, participants of guided tours, and tours arranged for schoolchildren.