London, Aug. 8 (TNS): A plaque of late former Pakistani Prime Minister (PM) Benazir Bhutto has been reinstated at the Pakistan High Commission in the United Kingdom, following a four-year absence, British media reported here on Wednesday.
Newly installed Pakistani High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Sahibzada Ahmed Khan, restored a memorial plaque of Bhutto which was removed four years ago by predecessor Ibne Abbas.
The monument was initially displayed by former High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan in 2010 to recognize Bhutto’s contribution to the acquisition of three buildings in Lowndes Square for the state of Pakistan in the mid-90s.
“Indeed, His Excellency Ahmed Khan has done a remarkable job by undoing a wrong done to a chapter of our history. Benazir Bhutto deserves credit for what she did for Pakistan. I am grateful to the new high commissioner for taking note of the despicable action of his predecessor and restoring the memorial plaque. Bless him,” Hasan remarked.
The late PM gave permission for the purchase of the properties – three buildings, an adjacent open space and two news houses were bought for US$7.7 million and are now worth some US$258 million.
“Pakistan’s foreign office considered it a mission impossible, but I brought down the prices from £14 million pound sterling in June 1996 to £6 million. In 2008, after I became the high commissioner, I was approached by prominent members of (the) Pakistani community to put a plaque outside the mission.
“They themselves contributed for the plaque. It was decided to put it safely inside the Chancery Hall. It was installed by Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 21st June, 2010,” Hasan explained.
“Later, when Zardari government ceased to exist and without asking the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, new high commissioner Syed Ibne Abbas ordered the plaque to be covered up under a huge piece of calligraphy. I took a serious objection to it but the plaque was not restored.”
Hasan disclosed that the foreign office tried to sell the properties in 2015 but then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had refused.
