Karachi: Demolition of historical school building stirs controversy

KARACHI -  The demolition of a historical house, situated within the premises of a government school in Karachi's Soldier Bazar area, has stirred controversy and public outrage.

According to reports, the Jufelhurst School was established by Sybil D’Abreo in 1931 on nearly one acre of land in what was then known as Cincinnatus town. Ms D’Abreo used the first two letters of her mother’s name, Julia, and the first three letters of her father’s name, Felix, to name her school.

The school remained functional and scores of children from the locality were studying there.



However, ignoring the basic right of education and historical significance, the claimants of the property Adnan, Zeeshan and Muhammad Abid, allegedly razed the house and parts of school building to the ground late Saturday night.

But the demolition did not go smoothly, and locals gathered at the site and informed the police and education department officials about it.



Afterwards, scores of educationists and heritage consultants began to protest and demanded stern action, with activist and architect Marvi Mazhar actively advocating the case on social media.

As the pressure ramped up, political bigwigs including education minister Jam Mehtab Dahar paid a visit to the site and stated that the role of police was questionable citing the destruction of state-owned property.



He claimed that chief minister Murad Ali Shah has sought a complete report regarding the incident.

On the other hand, IG Sindh A.D Khawaja also ordered an inquiry into the demolition of Jufelhurst School, in addition to lodging an FIR against unknown suspects.