Daily Times

LAHORE: The ages old Haveli Kabuli Mal near Dabbi Bazaar inside Walled City of Lahore is in dilapidated condition and no plans for its restoration have been made so far by the Walled City of Lahore Authority (WCLA), reliable sources told Daily Times. Restoration of neighbourhood areas has been done by WCLA but the Kabuli Mal Haveli has not been touched so far, despite its historic and architectural value, the sources added. The intact exterior of the Haveli is getting derelict with the passage of time, whereas some portion was already demolished a few years ago and on the ground floor shops have been opened which are an additional threat to the heritage property, sources informed. On visiting the location, the people around the place informed Daily Times that WCLA had restored the nearby areas but the Haveli was not restored along with other properties.

The locals were of the opinion that it was a dying building and soon would be demolished by land mafia like many other buildings inside walled city and later WCLA will not be able to take any measures because many heritage homes have been rapidly demolished by plaza mafia in the last five years. On visiting the location it was observed that only the façade of the haveli was left and its interior had already fallen apart and turned into debris. The locals were of the opinion that the Haveli might not see another season after the upcoming monsoon. According to local and historic references, the haveli belonged to a governor of Lahore, Kabuli Mal, an Ahmed Shah Abdali appointed ruler and it was built in the 1700s. Kabuli Mal, as the name suggests, belonged to the city of Kabul in Afghanistan, and he was the most trusted one of Ahmad Shah Abdali.

Socialite and resident of walled city Yousaf Sallahuddin was of the opnion that Haveli Kabuli Mal was an important building and although WCLA is restoring different sites it should be taken up on priority basis. He added that all the heritage properties should be taken up for restoration as what heritage is left in the city needs to be saved.

“In my opinion, every old building needs to be saved and Bangla Ayub Shah is also one of them. People have demolished their old houses and built plazas which have stolen the beauty of the city,” he added.

Renowned artist and teacher Salima Hashmi expressed her distress over the condition of the city and said, “Kabuli Mal surely needs to be saved. We have to work on a war footing to save the city as it is disappearing before our eyes. If you want to lose your identity then turn away your faces, but if you wish to be recognised as a Lahori and Pakistani then safeguarding what is left is important. We cannot look up to the donors and expert agencies like Aga Khan Trust for Culture for saving every bit. It is also the responsibility of the citizens to raise their voices and draw the attention of the experts and local government towards the heritage, but unfortunately the citizens themselves are not active. We should not leave the city at the mercy of the traders, otherwise we will not be able to stop them from how they are harming the city,” she remarked.

Artist, conservationist and historian Ejaz Anwar said, “We cannot save the entire 400-year-old Lahore, but what is historically, architecturally and aesthetically important needs to be saved at any cost, and Kabuli Mal is surely such a building.”

WCLA Conservation & Planning Director Najam Saqib said that they were working to restore the old buildings inside the walled city but the Kabuli Mal would be included in the phase four of restoration. He said that so far they had restored the package one and two of royal trail and in the fourth package they would start working on the Kabuli Mal.

Published in Daily Times, May 12^th 2018.