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It was the venue of the lazy Sunday afternoon activities in Karachi. Books and art lovers used to throng the Frere Hall lawns along with their young ones to flip through old, even ancient books, and to view the artworks created by that fast shrinking group of amateur Karachi watercolourists, who only painted boats and fish harbour scenes from life. A variety of other bric-a-brac, from old ship parts to lanterns to ropes and fishing rods, were also available to buy at throwaway prices to all— from the average treasure hunter to the junk collector. It was a much awaited weekly event indeed. Then, one fine day, it was shut down.
Now suddenly again it seems that the Frere Hall, aka Bagh-i-Jinnah, is no more a restricted area for the public. One says this because no formal announcement to the effect has been made by the city administration. The access to the colonial-time heritage building, housing a public library and an art gallery, and its sprawling lawns was severely restricted following the terrorist attack on the US consulate located bang opposite, in June 2002.
The US consulate reportedly wanted the entire section of Abdullah Haroon Road blocked to traffic after the attack that killed 12 people, but better sense prevailed and police check posts were installed instead. However, despite these measures, a string of deadly attacks in the vicinity followed, including one behind the Marriott Hotel in March 2006, just steps away from a rear entrance to the consulate. While, the terrorist assaults lent credence to American threat perceptions and the need to keep the area restricted, the loss of the Sunday book fair at the historical venue lay heavy on the citizens’ soul; more so because the city administration did not offer an alternative site, which could have easily been a section of the vast Artillery Maidan grounds.
However, the then city nazim, Naimatullah Khan’s firm resolve that while security would be reinforced, the road in front of the consulate would not be closed, made the Americans seriously think about relocating the consulate. The place selected was the non-starter hippodrome site next to Karachi Grammar School in Clifton. There, too, the parents of schoolchildren resisted the moving of the consulate so close to the school, citing security risk to their children and possible restrictions on traffic movement, so the plan was dumped.
Now that finally the consulate has relocated from Abdullah Haroon Road to its new, purpose-built compound on the junction of Queen’s Road and Mai Kolachi Bypass, the police check posts and the concrete blocks placed along the old building’s wall have also been removed, as has been the Stars and Stripes. Book enthusiasts have reason to hope that the American consul-general’s residence, located on Fatima Jinnah Road behind the Frere Hall, will also soon be relocated to the new compound so that the Sunday book fair too can return to the rear lawns of the Frere Hall.
This would certainly mean demilitarising the so-called high security zone in the heart of Karachi Cantonment, where now big hotels look and operate like fortresses, and walking in and out of them is just a cumbersome, though thankfully not restricted affair. The same goes for that once very happening cultural venue, the PACC, also located on Fatima Jinnah Road, and whose only entrance now is through a narrow lane behind the building.
One other, though totally unrelated, development that gives heart to Karachiites is the return of the taxi cabs to the taxi ramp at the airport arrivals. Taxis were banished to the rear side of the huge parking lot a few years ago, and you had to walk quite a bit to get to one carrying your luggage.
One hopes that the opening to the public of the Frere Hall, the return of the taxis to where they used to be at the airport, and the possibility of the Sunday book fair reshaping are signs of better days ahead. The lifting of curfew-like restrictions in and out of the city’s luxury hotels, however, still remains a far cry. But for now Karachiites can be thankful for small mercies.
Murtaza Razvi is the Editor, Magazines, at Dawn.
The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
