THINGS remain in a state of uniform motion unless an external force is applied to them. That’s Newton’s first law of motion. Miss Fatima Jinnah’s golden 1955 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible and her white 1965 Mercedes Benz 200 have not been roadworthy for years and would have been rusted away completely but for the efforts of a few people.

Over the years, there have been discussions and debates, newspapers have printed letters about them but to no avail. A struggle of 19 years of two steps forward and one back have now shown results, as both of Miss Jinnah’s cars are finally going to be restored. Mohsin Ikram, founder and president of the Vintage and Classic Car Club of Pakistan and Motorheads Pakistan, first came across the cars at the Mohatta Palace back in 1992/93. He says that back then they were parked in the palace garage and weren’t in too bad condition, with even the stickers on the engines intact.

And they remained so until 1997 when the Sindh government decided to renovate the Mohatta Palace. That’s when the labourers doing work on the building pulled out the cars from their garage and left them outside. Not realising their worth, they would sit on their bonnets from time to time and eat their lunch and dinner on them.

It was during this time that Mr Ikram heard a collector of classic cars boasting about how he had broken the dashboard of one of the cars to yank out its clock and other accessories. That’s when he hurried there to see for himself what was going on. He was shocked to find the cars missing their wheels and rims. Many other parts had also been stolen and the vehicles stood in a pathetic condition on bricks. It prompted him to write to the then governor of Sindh to kindly look into the matter.

It had some effect, as the cars were soon removed from the Mohatta Palace and taken to the Sindh Archives department. “They literally dragged them to the Sindh Archives building causing further damage. I thought then that people should know about what was happening to this national asset so I wrote a letter for Dawn’s ‘Letters to the Editor’ section, which prompted several more letters from other people as shocked as myself over the treatment meted out to the cars. Of course, all were in favour of restoring them, especially those in authority, who seem excited at the prospect of these heritage vehicles getting restored,” says Mr Ikram.

A long debate ensued. Someone also had to be brought in to do the job. Being a classic cars enthusiast and having restored over a hundred of them himself, Mr Ikram felt confident enough to volunteer for the job. “I am so passionate about classic cars that initially I even offered to do it for free,” he says. But with several people coming and going in the Sindh Archives department, nothing materialised until another well-meaning citizen of Karachi filed a petition in the Sindh High Court for the handover of the cars so that they can be restored.

Soon others, too, caught wind of the matter. Around 2006, there were plans to take the cars to Islamabad to be restored and displayed at an army museum or at a park named after Miss Fatima Jinnah in F-9. “But my argument is this that these cars are a part of Karachi’s heritage. They should stay in this city. I told them that I would only help in restoring the cars if they stay in Karachi and are displayed at the Mohatta Palace where they actually belong,” Mr Ikram stresses.

Another long lull followed. In between people in the Sindh Archives department kept calling up Mr Ikram about the restoration of the cars. He was also getting sick and tired of them not doing much other than just calling him to know if he was still interested in restoring the cars. “I tell them I was and still am willing but they should also move beyond just calling me. They told me when they are posted to the office, they open old files and only my name comes up as all the letters and proposals in those files are from me,” he laughs. “I am happy that after years it is finally going to happen,” says Mr Ikram, who has now been brought in as a consultant on the project.

About the actual work, Mr Ikram says that it could take around one-and-a-half to two years. He says that people want to know if the cars will look as good as new. “Of course they will, but see, there are two schools of thought. One is the easy way out where you get another donor car that is stripped off its parts which are put into the car being restored. It doesn’t even take so much time. But no, it would not be Miss Jinnah’s car then, now would it? What I believe in is keeping as much of the original as possible. If the wipers can be restored, I will do it instead of replacing them. The same goes for the steering wheel and other such things in there. Perhaps it may take extra work but they will be original, not some replicas from China, Taiwan, Korea or India,” he concludes.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2016