LAHORE – The Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) said Tuesday a sculpture of Pakistan’s national poet Dr Allama Muhammad Iqbal will be immediately taken down following mixed responses on social media.
A person shared a picture on Twitter, showing a group of workers uprooting the boundary fence surrounding the sculpture, and captioned it as “After going viral on social media, Iqbal’s structure is being uprooted.”
سوشل میڈیا پے وائرل ہونے کے بعد اقبال کے مجسمے کو اکھاڑا جا رہا ہے۔ pic.twitter.com/4jlRof0vbp
— Rai Shahnawaz (@RaiShahnawaz) February 2, 2021
Built by gardeners in three months out of pure love for Allama Iqbal, the sculpture will now be reinstalled at Gulshan Iqbal Park after improvements are made to it, according to a PHA spokesperson.
The action comes after Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar directed the Authority to immediately remove the quirky statue that didn’t do justice with the great poet.
Earlier, in a tweet, PHA Chairman Yasir Gillani had also earlier explained that the statue had been built by the park’s gardeners out of their sheer love for Allama Iqbal.
“Dear, this is prepared by maalis at their own , they made it in shere love for Iqbal and to pay homage from their heart. Authority didn’t approved or even paid a single penny for it. WE WILL ADDRESS IT but can anyone see from maalis eye’s, their love and their عقیدت,” he tweeted.
Dear, this is prepared by maalis at their own , they made it in shere love for Iqbal and to pay homage from their heart. Authority didn't approved or even paid a single penny for it.
WE WILL ADDRESS IT but can anyone see from maalis eye's, their love and their عقیدت, pic.twitter.com/qAdf0Nw4E9— Yasir Gillani PTI (@yasir_gillani) February 2, 2021
The recent sculpture of the ‘poet of the east’ at Gulshan Park Lahore grabbed attention due to the unfortunate and botched restoration of the artistic work.
It became top trend on Twitter, and the platform was flooded with all sorts of comments; also, the netizens demanded the authorities to remove it from the park.
Allama Iqbal’s statue doesn’t surprise me at all … it’s in line with how we have deformed the country, it’s polity, it’s culture and ideology of its creation. pic.twitter.com/6ekNpxJmpa
— Musadaq Zulqarnain (@MusadaqZ) February 2, 2021
جناب ولید اقبال صاحب کیا آپ جانتے ہیں یہ کس کا مجسمہ ہے؟ کیا یہ کہیں سے بھی شاعر مشرق کا مجسمہ نظر آتا ہے؟ آپکی حکومت کے خیال میں یہ شاعر مشرق ہیں اور کسی سفارشی سےمجسمہ بنواکر عوام الناس کے لئے اسے گلشن اقبال لاہور میں سجا دیا گیا مجھے تو یہ مجسمہ دیکھ کر بہت افسوس ہوا ہے pic.twitter.com/girwXllzZt
— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) February 2, 2021
After fierce criticism, #PunjabGovt starts removing the statue of #AllamaIqbal. An immediate action for this criminal negligence yet to be taken. They should also learn from #SindhGovt's cultural activism and state-of-the-art statue at BhitShah – tribute to iconic poet #ShahLatif pic.twitter.com/T8rikUKrr0
— Sikandar Ali Hullio (@HullioSikandar) February 2, 2021
The much debated statue was erected months ago, but came into limelight on Monday night.
Allama Iqbal’s ‘botched’ sculpture draws flak on social media
