Jinnah house: Property dispute between India and Pakistan

Mumbai, Dec 21: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced that Indian Government will acquire the Jinnah House in Mumbai and convert it into an international cultural centre to hold meetings and international delegations.

Jinnah House on Malabar Hill

The Jinnah House on Malabar Hill in Mumbai was designed by architect Claude Batley in European style and Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah lived there in the late 1930s. The sprawling palatial structure spread across 2.5 acre at Malabar Hill in South Mumbai was built by Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 1936 at a cost of Rs 2 lakh.

Pakistan has been demanding that the property be handed over to it for housing its Mumbai consulate. (Visual posted by Raj Anand Sharma on FB)

View of Jinnah House

India strongly rejected Pakistan's claim of ownership of the Jinnah House in Mumbai and said the property belongs to it. "Pakistan has no locus standi as far as this property is concerned. It is a government of India's property and we are in the process of renovating it," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. PTI photo

Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri

It may be recalled that Former foreign minister of Pakistan Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri had visited to Jinnah House in Mumbai in 2015. He had said he would continue to push for opening a Pakistani Consulate in Jinnah House. "When I was the External Affairs Minister (2002-07), I worked towards starting a Pakistani Consulate at Jinnah House. I will continue to make efforts in realising this goal." He also favoured reopening of the Indian Consulate in the port city of Karachi in Pakistan. PTI photo

BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha

After two years, BJP MLA Mangal Prabhat Lodha demanded that Jinnah House, the residence of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah in south Mumbai, be demolished and a cultural centre be built in its place. Speaking in the Legislative Assembly on the budgetary demands of the Public Works Department (PWD), the MLA said, "The Jinnah residence in south Mumbai was the place from where the conspiracy of partition was hatched." According to the legislator, after the passage of the Enemy Property Act, Jinnah's heirs cannot stake claim to the Jinnah house.