{"id":7518,"date":"2019-01-27T11:01:46","date_gmt":"2019-01-27T06:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pakistanpressfoundation.org\/?p=93961"},"modified":"2019-01-27T11:01:46","modified_gmt":"2019-01-27T06:01:46","slug":"heritage-saving-the-karachi-press-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanfoemonitor.org\/heritage-saving-the-karachi-press-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Heritage: Saving The Karachi Press Club"},"content":{"rendered":"
It is not much different from saving a life. There is the flat-lining patient surrounded by doctors trying everything within their power to resuscitate him, to get him to breathe again. That is what the Endowment Trust (EFT) does for the architectural heritage of Sindh.<\/p>\n
The EFT sees saving and conserving one\u2019s heritage as a matter life and death. It is about protecting the cultural identity of a city and creating awareness among people about old structures in order to discourage demolition and additions to heritage buildings. According to the Sindh Cultural Heritage (Preservation) Act passed by the provincial assembly in 1994, there were about 600 buildings declared as heritage monuments here initially, following which 400 more were added to the list in the next 20 or so years.<\/p>\n
The Karachi Press Club (KPC) situated in Saddar, has a much celebrated history, not only as a vibrant meeting place for journalists, literateurs and intellectuals, but also as a beacon of resistance and free speech during dark times. Even while the media has been under threat from official and non-official forces \u2014 as it is now \u2014 journalists have jealously guarded the KPC as their own \u2018Hyde Park\u2019. It was founded in 1958 but its building, a city landmark, is much older than that. Built sometime in 1890, it is almost 130 years old and has seen much wear and tear over the years.<\/p>\n
How the landmark building with a rich history and legacy was saved from ruin<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
To save the ceiling of the upper floor from caving in earlier, a senior member of the club and former editor of Dawn newspaper Saleem Asmi had stepped in to help replace the wooden roof with a concrete one. But this was still not enough. It was in 2012 when Sassui Palijo, the then minister for culture, visited the KPC and, after being shown around, said that she wanted to see it restored. Reportedly, the government of Sindh set aside funding for the purpose though it never reached the KPC.<\/p>\n