After Pressure From 'Extremist Elements', Pakistan Defers Plan to Restore Pre-Partition Names of Lahore Localities

New Delhi: Pakistan’s Punjab government has deferred its earlier plan to rename several streets and neighbourhoods in Lahore with their pre-Partition names as part of an effort to preserve the city’s historical heritage.

The change in the stance of the Punjab government came after some extremist elements, including vloggers, strongly criticised chief minister Maryam Nawaz for restoring pre-Partition “Hindu and Sikh” names, reported Press Trust of India.

The plan was proposed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who heads the Lahore Heritage Areas Revival project.

When Lahore Deputy Commissioner Capt R. Muhammad Ali Ijaz asked that both Sharif and Maryam Nawaz had given approval for the restoration of the original names of roads and streets, and the chief minister’s office had also duly issued a handout in this regard on March 20, Ijaz insisted that “no decision has been taken as yet as the matter is under discussion.”

“As the critics gave the government’s decision a religious colour, the Maryam Nawaz administration has gone on the back foot and deferred the decision to avert backlash,” said an official, reported PTI.

The areas proposed for restoration include Queen’s Road, Lawrence Road, Empress Road, Krishan Nagar, Santnagar, Dharampura, Laxmi Chowk, Sant Nagar Jain Mandir Road, Mohan Lal Bazaar, Bhagwan Pura and Shanti Nagar.

At present, for instance, Queen’s Road is known as Fatima Jinnah Road, Lawrence Road as Bagh-i-Jinnah Road, Empress Road as Shahrah-i-Abdul Hameed bin Badees, Krishan Nagar is Islampura, and so on.

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