Observer Report Karachi
The Sindh High Court has banned authorities from writing or calling Fatima Jinnah’s Karachi property Mohatta Palace.
“It should be named Qasr-e-Fatima,” the court ruled Saturday.
At a hearing of the case of the distribution of Quaid-e-Azam and Fatima Jinnah’s residence, the court referred to a petition filed by Hassan Walji, the claimant of the mother of the nation’s inheritance.
According to Fatia Jinnah’s will, Qasr-e-Fatima was to be turned into a medical college to provide free education to women, the plaintiff revealed. “Why wasn’t the college constructed? Why was a museum to be built there instead?” the court inquired.
It has instructed the petitioner to submit a recommendation to turn Qasr-e-Fatima into a medical college and summoned a response from the Sindh government at the next hearing.
It has also directed Walji to provide a detailed report on the property of Fatima Jinnah.
The lawsuit, initiated in 1971, involved a dispute of Fatima Jinnah’s properties. These include Qasr-e-Fatima, her bank accounts, returns on shares in different companies, vehicles, jewellery, and other household articles.
The proceedings were initiated by her sister Shireen Jinnah after she applied for a succession certificate at the high court. After Shireen died in 1980, the case was taken up by her trust. It claims to be the custodian of the assets mentioned in the case.
