KP Governor’s House yet to be opened for public

PESHAWAR: The Governor House here has yet to be opened for the public though the Punjab and Sindh governor's houses remained open for the people during the last two weekends.

In line with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) election manifesto, the Punjab and Sindh governors opened the spacious lawns of the British-era buildings for the general public. The families in Lahore and Karachi as well as from rest of Sindh and Punjab provinces turned up in large numbers on the weekends and enjoyed walking and sitting in the open.

The PTI leaders had promised that all the governor houses would be turned into educational institutions, museums or public parks to make them accessible for general public. It was also announced that governors would not reside in or utilise these huge and luxurious buildings. The decision of utilising these buildings for other purposes has not been taken so far, but the governor's houses in Karachi and Lahore have partially been opened for the public on weekends.

However the gigantic iron gates of Governor House in Peshawar are yet to be opened for the general public. Rather ordinary people's entry into the historic building has been restricted compared to the past and even the media was not invited to the recent oath-taking of the new Governor Shah Farman and also when provincial ministers were being administered oath.

If there are security concerns, these could be addressed by the government, which has been claiming that the security situation has improved in Peshawar and rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The provincial government and PTI leadership have yet to decide how to utilise the building. The senior leaders of PTI in the province said the building would be turned into museum or public library. The establishment of an educational institution was also promised earlier, but no practical step has been taken to this end so far.

Governor Shah Farman is staying at the Governor House, though he had hinted earlier to avoid using it. He hasn't made up his mind to allow the public to visit and enjoy walking in the sprawling lawns of the Governor House. The provincial capital is short of parks and entertainment spots, especially for families. The building can be opened for public without shifting the governor to another place as has been done in Karachi and Lahore. Not every part of the building would be made accessible to the people.

Opening the Governor House to the people would not be a unique decision as late Arbab Sikandar Khan had also allowed ordinary people to visit the place when he was governor of the province during early 1970s.

Besides the Governor House, the PTI chairman Imran Khan had time and again stated to open the historical Balahisar Fort for public. During his party's previous government in the province, he had assured to take up the issue of Balahisar Fort with the then Army chief Gen Raheel Sharif, but the fort that serves as the headquarters of Frontier Corps (FC), has yet to be vacated or opened for public. The residents of Peshawar expect the PTI leadership to at least make the historical spacious buildings accessible for the public.