IT’S NOT in the 21st century that people started to think about conserving Karachi’s buildings constructed in colonial times; this has been going on for more than five decades, in one way or another. On Dec 22, 1975, for example, the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC) proposed to reconstruct the 61-year-old structure which housed the Central Fire Brigade Station on Markwick Road near Urdu College. The Rs5.6 million project, which was likely to start in Jan 1976, envisaged accommodation for 28 vehicles in two big blocks, a shelter at the basement for 100 persons, emergency rooms, an auto workshops, a parade ground, a conference hall, underground and overhead tanks to store water and fuel, a modern fire alarm, a telephone exchange, a control room, an administrative block and residential accommodations.

Sindh Chief Minister’s official residence in Karachi is also an old work of construction. On Dec 23, the Chief Minister of Sindh, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, hosted a reception for children at his residence in connection with Universal Children’s Day. It was an occasion for rejoicing and fanfare for more than 800 youngsters, including orphans and differently abled. The chief minister, accompanied by his wife and two sons, interacted with the children and gave them autographs.

Speaking of rejoicing, on Dec 25, feasts, festivals and special prayers marked the Christmas celebrations in Karachi. Special mass was held in all the churches of the city, anthems were sung by choirs and carols by congregations. Members of the Christian community also exchanged gifts and greetings.

The happy mood continued as Dec 25 was Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s 99th birthday. The Governor of Sindh, Begun Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, paid rich tributes to the Quaid-i-Azam for his dynamic leadership and indomitable personality, stressing the need for writing books on his life and work for the younger generation to understand the events that led to the creation of Pakistan. In her presidential address at a symposium organised by the Pakistan National Centre to celebrate the birthday of the Father of the Nation, she said there were books written on Mr Jinnah by certain local and foreign authors, all of which were not ‘wholly trustworthy’. The governor pointed out. “He possessed an incorruptible way of life which deserved to remain as a firm and meaningful example for all.” She reminded the audience of the Quaid’s speech made in Madras in 1941 in which he had said, “The only weapon that you have to forge — and the sooner you forge it the better — is to create your own strength, your own power, so that you can face any danger, any enemy, singly or combined.” Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan observed that some of the people who did not have the honour of participating in the struggle for Pakistan could not appreciate fully the enormous difficulties faced in achieving the goal under the dynamic leadership of the Quaid-i-Azam, both during those years and in the early years of the country’s coming into being. She added, “Life moves on, but we have to respect and remember with pride and gratitude the homeland won for us through the millions of lives lost and many other sacrifices.”

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2025