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Mazar-e-Quaid
(Urdu:
مزار
قائد),
also
known
as
Jinnah
Mausoleum
or
the
National
Mausoleum,
is
the
final
resting
place
of
Quaid-e-Azam
("Great
Leader")
Muhammad
Ali
Jinnah,
the
founder
of
Pakistan.
Designed
in
a
1960s
modernist
style,
it
was
completed
in
1971,
and
is
an
iconic
symbol
of
Karachi
as
well
as
one
of
the
most
popular
tourist
sites
in
the
city.[1]
The
mausoleum
complex
also
contains
the
tomb
of
Jinnah's
sister,
Māder-e
Millat
("Mother
of
the
Nation")
Fatima
Jinnah,
as
well
as
those
of
Liaquat
Ali
Khan
and
Nurul
Amin,
the
first
and
eighth
Prime
Ministers
of
Pakistan
respectively.
The
tomb
of
Sardar
Abdur
Rab
Nishtar,
a
stalwart
of
the
Muslim
League
from
Peshawar,
is
also
located
there.
Location
The
mausoleum
is
located
in
a
prominent
and
highly
visible
location
in
the
Jamshed
Quarters
locality
of
central
Karachi,
along
the
northern
edge
of
the
colonial-era
core
at
the
end
of
Muhammad
Ali
Jinnah
Road.
The
mausoleum
is
surrounded
by
a
large
garden
laid
out
in
a
neo-Mughal
style
in
the
dense
central
city,
with
large
traffic
rotaries
at
three
of
its
four
corners.
Muhammad
Ali
Jinnah's
corporal
death
occurred
in
1948,
and
his
final
resting
place
was
marked
by
a
large
white
marble
slab
that
was
raised
on
a
plinth
accessed
by
marble
steps.[2]
In
1949,
the
Quaid-e-Azam
Memorial
Fund
(QMF)
was
established,
which
received
numerous
suggestions
for
the
establishment
of
a
memorial
in
Jinnah's
honor.[3]
By
1952,
his
mausoleum
was
capped
by
a
small
dome,
with
a
cabinet
that
contained
some
of
his
personal
effects
along
a
wall
near
his
grave.[4]
The
site
had
an
air
of
neglect
which
angered
many.[4]
Fatima
Jinnah
and
the
QMF
received
numerous
letters
from
concerned
Pakistanis
at
the
sad
state
of
his
tomb,
and
advocated
for
a
more
befitting
monument
to
Jinnah.[4]
In
1952,
the
QMF
proposed
to
erect
4
monuments
across
Pakistan
to
Jinnah's
memory
-
a
mausoleum
and
mosque
on
the
current
site
in
central
Karachi,
a
Dar-ul-Uloom
religions
school
in
Punjab,
and
a
University
of
Science
and
Technology
in
East
Pakistan.[5]
In
1954,
an
Indian
architect
was
selected
to
design
the
mausoleum,
but
was
later
dismissed.[3]
In
1955,
a
Turkish
architect
was
hired,
but
his
plan
was
rejected
as
well.[3]
In
1957,
the
Government
of
Pakistan
held
an
international
competition
to
design
a
new
mausoleum
for
Jinnah.[6]
The
competition
was
initially
won
by
British
architect
William
Whitfield,[7]
of
the
Raglan
Squire
and
Partners
firm.
The
state's
efforts
to
select
a
design
were
paralleled
by
the
efforts
of
the
Jinnah's
sister,
Fatima
Jinnah,
who
sought
input
from
the
public
in
the
design
of
a
monument
to
her
brother.[6]
Fatima
Jinnah
effectively
vetoed
the
1957
proposal,
and
assumed
control
of
the
QMF.
She
then
commissioned
architect
Yahya
Merchant,[8]
a
Bombay
based
architect
who
was
a
personal
friend
of
Jinnah,[3]
to
design
the
monument.
President
Ayub
Khan
laid
the
foundation
stone
for
the
monument
on
July
31,
1960.
It
was
inaugurated
by
Yahya
Khan
on
18
January
1971.[4]
The
gardens
surrounding
the
mausoleum
were
not
completed
until
December
24,
2000.[4]
