Can't wish away history: Pak politician on Jinnah House demolition call

Islamabad: Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan has termed the suggestion by a BJP lawmaker to bring down the Jinnah House in Mumbai as "disturbing" and asserted that "history cannot be wished away" by demolishing buildings.

"Indian parliamentarians' calls to demolish Jinnah House unfortunate and disturbing. History cannot be wished away by demolishing buildings," the 64-year-old Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman tweeted.

Pakistan Foreign Office had also expressed concern last month over the safety of 'Jinnah House' located in Mumbai and said India should show respect towards it.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Nafees Zakaria had said that the Indian government should realise the importance of the building and show respect towards it.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha last month demanded that the building be demolished and a cultural centre built in its place.

Lodha, speaking in Maharashtra's Legislative Assembly on the budgetary demands of the Public Works Department (PWD), said, "The Jinnah residence in south Mumbai was the place from where the conspiracy of partition was hatched."

"Jinnah House is a symbol of the partition. The structure should be demolished," he had said. The grand house built by Jinnah is located in Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai.