Pakistan will not forfeit its claim on Jinnah House in Mumbai, says its Foreign Office

Pakistan’s announcement came just a day after Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the Ministry of External Affairs has begun the process of transfer of Jinnah House to its name.

Paksitan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi / Image tweeted by @ForeignOfficePk

New Delhi: In response to India’s move of taking over the Jinnah House in Mumbai, Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Thursday said Pakistan will not forfeit its claim to the mansion owned by its founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah. The mansion was owned by Pakistan’s Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah prior to partition and had been snared in a legal battle between his daughter Dina Wadia and the Government of India.  In the year 2007, Jinnah’s daughter had moved the Bombay High Court to regain the control of the property but passed away last year in November. The FO Pakistan said that the country will not relinquish its claim to the estate, The Dawn reported. Pakistan’s announcement came just a day after Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj said that the Ministry of External Affairs has begun the process of transfer of Jinnah House to its name. The Indian government plans to convert the building into an international convention centre. In a letter to Malabar Hill MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Sushma Swaraj informed that her ministry will renovate the bungalow on the lines of Hyderabad House in Delhi. Swaraj mentioned in the letter that the Ministry has received direction from the PMO for the proper renovation of the house and for its refurbishment BJP legislator Lodha had written to Swaraj on October 5 requesting that Jinnah House should be made a cultural centre. He had been raising this demand in front of the government over the past seven years. He had also demanded for the ownership of Jinnah house to be transferred to the government, in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as well.