Allama Iqbal’s botched sculpture removed from public park, two officials suspended

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Tuesday suspended two officials of Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) Lahore after an uproar on social media over a recent sculpture of the ‘poet of the east’ Allama Iqbal installed in the city’s Gulshan-i-Iqbal Park, ARY News reported.

According to an order issued by the authority, Shah Nawaz Wattoo, the park’s Deputy Director Horticulture, and Assistant Director Horticulture Ghulam Sibtain have been suspended with “immediate effect”.

The sculpture of Iqbal drawn the attention of the masses soon after its placement in the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park Lahore.

What caught the person’s eye was how the artist had taken liberty with the subject by making the sculpture such that it did not appear to resemble the man himself.

Quickly, the sculpture spread across social media with many people commenting about the shocking artistic work.

Here are some of the reactions to the newly mounted sculpture of Allama Muhammad Iqbal.

Meanwhile, it was learned that the structure appeared to be an honest attempt by the gardeners of the park to pay a tribute to Allama Iqbal.