Medical college, an epicenter of history

Islamabad: Driving on The Mall Road of Rawalpindi, one comes across a simple yet elegant building, which at the moment is serving as the main campus of Islamic International Medical College. However, it is known by its old name,f the ‘old Supreme Court building.’

The building is of great historic importance; very few know that before the shifting of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in this building in 1974, it was actually an East Pakistan House built in the late sixties by the then government led by President Ayub Khan to cater for the accommodation of Members of Parliament, bureaucrats and officials of East Pakistan visiting the Federal Capital.

The main façade of the building is the same. However, over the years, the changes in its purpose led to changes in the building as well. Currently, new addition of rooms and blocks were added to the old building including laboratories and classrooms to meet the growing needs of the students.

After the shifting of the capital from Karachi, Rawalpindi had served as the interim capital of the country because Islamabad was at the initial stages of its development. During that time Islamabad did not have the capacity to cater for the needs of foreign missions. The main offices were all stationed in available government and private buildings in Rawalpindi. Most of the embassies of foreign countries were shifted to the residential bungalows at Harley Street while the sessions of National Assembly were arranged in the auditorium of National Defence University at Lal Kurti, a senior journalist Nawaz Raza, informed Bol News.

The need for construction of East Pakistan House had arisen after the shifting of capital to Islamabad, and as Islamabad was at the initial stages of development, all those coming to Federal Capital had to stay in Rawalpindi which was a garrison city. It did not have a capacity to meet the residential needs of a large number of people coming there from all over the West and East Pakistan.

Initially, a building from the Ministry of Defence was acquired to meet the boarding and lodging needs of elected representatives and officials coming here from East Pakistan in 1962. In the meantime with the efforts of Governor East Pakistan, the Federal Government had given approval to the construction of East Pakistan House on the main Peshawar Road, which, at that time was on the outskirts of Rawalpindi Cantonment. The work on the project was initiated in 1965 and with an estimated cost of Rs 20 lakh, it was completed in two years time.

The building comprised of a separate residential block for Governor East Pakistan, 18 residential rooms and four VIP suites, with splendid lawns in front and back of the building. The building was formally inaugurated by President Ayub Khan on May 14, 1967, along with the Governor East Pakistan, Abdul Monim, East Pakistan Minister for Works and Power and Irrigation, Maung Shwe Pure Chaudhary and other political figures from both East and West Pakistan.

East Pakistan House became the hub of political activities and people like Moulana Modoodi, Khawaja Nazamuddin, Moulvi Fareed, Noorul Amin and Nawabzada Nasrullah Khan were frequent visitors, Nawaz Raza stated.

“I along with a group of journalists had met Awami League chief, Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman here in this building, we had also met former prime minister of Pakistan Noorul Amin, along with other MPs from East Pakistan in this building”, Nawaz Raza recalled.

During the turmoil in East Pakistan,  authorities had arrested Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman, and he was also detained in East Pakistan House for a few days before being shifted to another location.

Following the creation of Bangladesh, the building remained vacant for a few years. However, when the Supreme Court of Pakistan was required to establish its principal seat at Federal Capital under the 1973 constitution, the building was used to house the Supreme Court of Pakistan till the time, when a new building of the apex court was built in Islamabad.

Supreme Court of Pakistan moved into the premises in 1974, and shifted to its new premises in Islamabad in December 1993. Even after shifting to new premises in Islamabad, the judges used this building for their residential purpose till the time the new residences for the judges was built in Islamabad.

The appeal of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, against the handing down of capital punishment to him by the Lahore High Court, was also heard in the same building by the seven-member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan. They had upheld the verdict of the Lahore High Court which resulted in in the hanging of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, for the murder of Nawaz Mohammad Ahmad Khan Kasuri.

The building is still under the control of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is managed by the Al-Mizan Foundation, a welfare body for the families of judges. Though worn out, the emblem of the Supreme Court of Pakistan could be seen on the façade of the building.

“A lot of historic events are associated with the building but whenever I drive past the place it reminds me of the painful event of the separation of East Pakistan from us—the feeling almost all patriotic Pakistanis share,” Nawaz Raza commented.