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Musharraf's childhood mansion getting a face-lift

Confusion reigns supreme in the backlanes of Golcha Cinema in the walled city area of Delhi where Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf will visit the Neharwali haveli, his birthplace, next month.

The confirmation of the visit has set off a veritable race among various civic authorities, as also present occupants of the ancient house on deciding how to welcome him.

While local Member of Legislative Assembly Shoaib Iqbal is getting a mehrab-e-yaadgar (memorial arch) constructed in Musharraf's honour, city Mayor Shanti Desai said they are working on a civic reception at the Red Fort for the Pakistani president.

Iqbal said that engraved on the plaque at the arch would be a greeting for Musharraf and the hope that his visit would prove to be a 'milestone' in the chequered Indo-Pak relations.

Desai said that they have asked the Lieutenant Governor of the capital to seek permission for the Red Fort reception.

The LG's office, however, said that it has not received any request from the Mayor's office so far.

At the Haveli, piles of stone tiles and heaps of mud are testimony to the work that is being done to beautify the place.

The approach road to the house and the entire courtyard will be cemented and Kota Stone put-up near the courtyard, said Iqbal.

Musharraf's proposed visit has also led to controversy as to in which portion of the mansion did the Pakistani president spend his childhood.

While the government has officially said that the portions in which the Jain family lives now was where Musharraf spent his childhood, other occupants of the mansion contest the claim.

The claim of the other occupants become even very stringent when they see the Jain family's portion being given a face lift at government's expense.

The Golas, the family which owns other portions of the mansion, which was divided into eight parts, show the original plan of the mansion in a bid to prove that the dignitary could have lived there.

The pre-partition property papers, however, show that haveli was the property of one Qazi Motaminuddin Ahmed Tahir.

"The press told us two years ago that Musharraf was born here," said Davinder Jain, who stays in portion seven.

PTI

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