Islamabad, Pakistan, is a national monument representing the nation's four provinces and three territories.

After a competition among many renowned architects, Arif Masoods plan was selected for the final design. The blooming flower shape of the monument represents Pakistan's progress as a rapidly developing country. The four main petals of the monument represent the four provinces (Balochistan, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), while the three smaller petals represent the three territories (Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas). The Monument has been designed to reflect the culture and civilization of the country and depicts the story of the Pakistan Movement, dedicated to those who sacrificed themselves for future generations. From air the monument looks like a star (center) and a crescent moon (formed by walls forming the petals), these represent the star and crescent on Pakistan's flag. Contents [hide] 1 Conception 2 Structure 3 Murals 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links [edit]Conception

The plan to build a national monument in the capital city of Pakistan was undertaken by the Ministry of Culture. In this respect, Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners (PCATP) organised a national competition around the theme of signifying strength, unity and dedication of the people of Pakistan into an icon representing an independent and free nation.[1] From a total of twenty submissions, three were short-listed. Finally, the design proposed by Arif Masoud was selected for construction, that revolved around the creation and development of the country. [edit]Structure

The monument is located at the west viewpoint of the Shakar Parian Hills, and is spread over a total area of 2.8 hectares. The high location makes the monument visible from across the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The foundation stone was laid on 25 May 2004 and the complex was completed by the end of 2006 for inauguration on 23 March 2007. The total cost incurred was more than Rs.580 million. [2] The structure comprises four blossoming flower petals, built of granite, representing the unity of Pakistani people. The inner walls of the petals are decorated with murals. The central platform is made in the shape of a five-pointed star which is surrounded by a water body. A metallic crescent surrounding the star is inscribed with sayings of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and poetry of Allama Iqbal. [edit]Murals

The murals on the inside of large petals are based on Islamic architecture, and were decorated by a team of artists led by Kausar Jahan and Zarar Haider Babri, who spent a total of 119,000 hours on the artwork.[3] The first petal features the Malki Tombs, Shahjahan Mosque, Rohtas Fort, Gawadar, and Faisal Mosque. The second petal depicts the images of Quiad-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Fatima Jinnah, Minar-ePakistan, Badshahi Mosque, Shila Tunnel, Karakorum Highway and a group of cheering people at Jinnah's public appearance. The third petal reflects Allama Iqbal, the Shah Rukn-e-Alam's Tomb, Mahabat Khan Mosque, Indus Valley Civilization, Lahore Fort and Indus River Delta. The fourth petal comprises the images of Sheesh Mehal, Lahore, Shalamar Gardens, the Uch Sharif Tomb, Islamia College Peshawar, the Ziarat Residency, the Khyber Pass and a polo match. Pakistan [edit]Gallery

by Husham Ahmed and yours truly. Photography by Saad Tiwana

Apologies for the formal and not very blog-like prose.

Set on the top of the Shakar Parian Hills, the Pakistan Monument overlooks the heart of Islamabad in an awe inspiring fashion. The project started by Pervez Musharraf in 2004, aimed to provide the residents of Islamabad with a sight to pay homage to the rich history and to represent development and future progress. The monument completed in 2007 is a structure shaped in four petals, representing united people of Pakistan standing shoulder to shoulder, over the crescent and star, hence protecting the motherland and acting as guarantors of progress.

The place has been recently in the limelight as the Pakistan Monument Museum, which was essentially the part of the original plan, was opened only last month for the general public. With the museum of natural history and heritage already existing in Islamabad, this thematic museum is exclusive in the sense that it is all about prepartition history, diverse traditions and the different contemporary issues being faced by the country.

Interestingly, when the museum was near completion it was found that displays and mannequins used in the museum were substandard, thus the project was handed over to a team of Lok Virsa headed by Kamran Javed, the new ED. The new team then completed the project in a very short period of time.

The thematic museum is divided into various sections (struggle, realization etc.) of pre-partition history, setup in a chronological order. The museum also hosts now few relics of Iqbal and Jinnah in the two separate rooms, which we believe have been brought on loan from the Wazir Mansion through Quaid-e-Azam Academy and Iqbal Manzil in Sialkot. There is also a library containing rare manuscripts and some popular books published on the subject.

The displays and statues are really fascinating and deserve commendation with the centrepiece being a magnificent buggy with the founder of the nation and Madr-eMillat Fatima Jinnah. Life size displays of events are extremely fruitful in passing down lessons of history to the newer generation and the Ministry of Culture deserves all out praise for executing the project in the most beautiful manner.

The falsifications of history and myths hagiographed into our books and state narratives have always been a bone of contention. It was thus heart warming to see historical objectivity visible in the displays. Although the first section is titled Arrival of the Muslims much like how our history books starts at the year 712 A.D., the first

display in the section is that of the Indus valley civilization and Gandhara art clearly expressing that we have a long, illustrious history much before the Arabs came to India. Even a buddha statue finds a place before the much revered heroes like Mohammad bin Qasim and Mahmood Ghaznavi. The War of Independence is described as having been fought by the Indian people, the Jinnah-Gandhi talks feature prominently in the displays, the much harkened-about August 11 speech of Jinnah is written at two places in the museum, Gandhis Satyagraha gets an honourable mention, a plaque commemorating the Indian National Congress calls Chandra Pal, Tilak, Lajpat Rai and Gokhale great leaders and Dadabhai Naoroji is called the first legendary icon of Indians. Even the wall-map of Pakistan shows Gilgit-Baltistan as a disputed territory along with Kashmir. Such brutally honest objectivity in historical narratives and feelings of pride for common heroes is extremely rare in a country where in the words of one of the greatest historians of Pakistan, K K Aziz, history has been murdered.

In the upper gallery, categories like sports, culture, women development, minorities, music, education, health, and of course the armed forces find space in form of pictorial boards and running video films on the LCDs. The major attractions to watch out in the upper gallery are the musical map and sufi map of Pakistan. It however appears that the floors were handled by different bureaucrats since the one handed out to work on the bottom floor the historical one did an awesome job, while the upper floor has its share of disappointments (why do the Combined Military Hospitals (CMH) get a separate board?, Is there any reason to include a list of major hospitals in Pakistan? Repeating the age-old sentences on various topics from Pak Studies books?).

Right beside the entrance of the museum there is an Audio/Visual section, which has desktop computers all connected to a local network hosting wide-ranging documentaries from ISPR, popular dramas, old music collection (including Roshan Ara Begum and Begum Akhtar), and rare photographs. There is a small film-screening hall, which has been showing the film Jinnah and other films on requests.

Monuments, museums, institutes of artifacts and public exhibits in general are rare in Pakistan. The Pakistan Monument and the associated museum stand out as gems that need to be emulated across the country on various themes and provide the public venues of entertainment, leisure and learning as well. Keeping these gems of public property in their best shape is the publics job too, but as it so happens there is little ownership of such things in the country. The authorities at this museum have instituted a worthy practice of asking visitors to wear shoe covers so as to keep the

museum clean and in a pristine condition. Hopefully, it will remain in the best condition for coming generations to see.

Once again, kudos to everyone involved with the project for making the museum as spectacular as it was possible. For anyone visiting Islamabad, this is an addition to the must-visit list.

Heres a gallery of pictures from the museum to make you interested (click to open slideshow, title appears at bottom-left and navigation buttons on either side at the centre):-

Pakistan Monument Museum

Pakistan Monument Museum Pakistan Monument Museum, located beside the Pakistan Monument, Islamabad, is the first of its kind thematic museum in the Capital of Pakistan. The Pakistan Government has designed this fantastic museum to showcase some historical moments in the making of Pakistan.

History

The idea for the museum was conceived back in 2005 by Ministry of Culture and Lok Virsa at a cost of Rs 120 million, with initial completion deadline slated for 2008. However, after the deadline being changed thrice then, the museum was inaugurated later in November and was opened for public at Shakarparian on November 4, 2010. Lok Virsas former Executive Director Uxi Mufti started the project as project director in 2005 but was handed over to Brig (R) Maqbool Ahmed, project director of Pakistan Monument, after Muftis retirement in 2008. Failing to register its importance, the project was then passed on from Maqbool back to Lok Virsa and Executive Director Khalid Javaid in 2009. [1]

Theme

The theme of the museum revolves around creation and development of Pakistan, making it different from other two Museums in the close vicinity i.e. the Heritage and Natural History Museum. Overriding purpose of the multi-dimensional displays in the museum is to make clear the birth, history, identity, society, advancement and achievement of Pakistan as a modern and progressive nation. [2] The purpose of the multidimensional displays in the museum is to explain in simple terms the birth, history, identity, society and advancement and achievement of Pakistan as a modern and progressive nation. [3]

The segments displayed in the museum include Indus Valley civilization, arrival of Islam and role of Sufism in the sub-continent, 1857 War of Independence, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Iqbal in Cordoba Mosque, Iqbalss address in Allahabad, the Lahore Resolution, Gandhi Jinnah talks, independence and migration 1947, Quaid as a lawyer, Quaids address to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Quaid and Iqbals galleries of relics, a display on freedom fighters and a segment on national achievements after independence.

Other

The museum also has the facility of a reference library, documentation centre, audio visual archive and media centre to cater to the requirements of the visitors, in particular students, researchers, scholars, and writer

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Mentioned 18 Post(s) Tagged 124 Thread(s) Quoted 350 Post(s) Latest Thread Iran is allegdely supporting American retreat via Chahbahar port which is financed by India Last Online Today @ 06:49 PM Pakistan Monument - Islamabad The Pakistan Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan, is a national monument representing the nation's four provinces and three territories. The blooming flower shape of the monument represents Pakistan's progress as a rapidly developing country. The four main petals of the monument represent the four provinces (Balochistan, KhyberPakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), while the three smaller petals represent the three territories (Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Kashmir and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas). The Monument has been designed to reflect the culture and civilization of the country and depicts the story of the Pakistan Movement, dedicated to those who sacrificed themselves for future generations. From up above in the air the monument looks like a star (center) and a crescent moon (formed by walls forming the petals), these represent the star and crescent on Pakistan's flag