Key Points
AP . . Stained glass windows, a sweeping staircase and embellished interiors make Mohatta Palace a gem in Karachi, a Pakistani megacity of 20 million people..
The pink stone balustrades, domes and parapets look like theyve been plucked from the northern Indian state of Rajasthan, a relic of a time whenMuslims and Hindus lived side by sidein the port city.. ..
For most Pakistanis, the palace is the closest theyll get to the architectural splendor of Indias Rajasthan, because travel restrictions and hostile bureaucracies largely keep people in either country from crossing the border for leisure, study or work.. . Karachis multicultural past makes it harder to find champions for preservation than in a city like Lahore, with its strong connection to the Muslim-dominated Mughal Empire, said Heba Hashmi, a heritage manager and maritime archaeologist.. ..
The scale of organic local community support needed to prioritize government investment in the preservation effort is nearly impossible to garner in a city as socially fragmented as Karachi, she said.. . . Mohatta Palace is a symbol of that diversity..
He left afterpartition in 1947, when India and Pakistan were carved from the former British Empire as independent nations, and for a time the palace was occupied by the Foreign Ministry.. . Next, it passed into the hands of Pakistani political royalty as the home of Fatima Jinnah, the younger sister of Pakistans first leader and a powerful politician in her own right.. ..
