MQM's Khursheed Memorial Hall to be converted into hospital

KARACHI: The district administration has declared Khursheed Begum Memorial Hall, former MQM secretariat, illegal and directed the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) to restore the building to its original status, ARY News reported on Saturday.

According to details, the KDA has decided to construct a hospital on the land of Khursheed Memorial Hall in light of Supreme Court (SC) orders.

Plot No ST-3/B located in Federal B Area was earmarked for medical center as per the KDA layout plan.

The Khursheed Begum Hall was named after Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain’s mother. She died in 1985 in Karachi.

The building was once considered as MQM secretariat before August 22, 2016. The building is located adjacent to the residence of MQM founder – Nine Zero.

On 9 September, a fire broke out at Nine Zero around 2am which was later extinguished by the two fire tenders. According to the initial probe, the cause of the blaze was short-circuit at the Nine Zero.

The Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) has directed the officials to conduct an inspection of the dilapidated building of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) former headquarters, Nine Zero, following the fire incident.

The SBCA director-general directed the officials to inspect the two-storey buildings of MQM’s former headquarters on plot numbers R-493 and R-494, Block 8 Nine Zero (90), Azizabad, Federal B Area.

Following SBCA DG orders, an inspection team will visit MQM’s former headquarters Nine Zero to ascertain if the dilapidated structure of the building is suitable for residential purposes or not.