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The Governor's House is the official residence of the Governor of Sindh province. It's situated along the Aiwan-e-Sadar Road of Karachi. Constructed in the year of 1939, it is an ancient building and has been the residence of various notable figures, involving the Commissioners and pre-independence British governors of Sindh province, followed by the Governor-Generals of Pakistan, the President of Pakistan and then by the Governors of current-day Sindh province.

The old Government House or Governor's House Karachi

The Sindh Governor's House Karachi is situated on the original location of the now-demolished Government House, which was constructed in the year of 1843 by Sir Charles Napier while Sindh was the proposed part of the British Raj. The Government House had been built for Napier's personal use. When Napier left in the year of 1847, the house was purchased by the Government of British India and utilized as an official residence by the Commissioners of Sindh up until the year of 1936.

British Raj

The construction of the current Governor's House Karachi building began in the year 1936 by famous architect R.T. Russel and was completed in the year of 1939, at a cost of 700,000 rupees. The new building was constructed to replace the Government House, which had been in a state of disrepair and was no longer appropriate for habitation. Sir Lancelot Graham, the 1st Governor of Sindh, laid the foundation stone of the building and began using it as his residence in the year of 1939. After Graham, the succeeding governors of Sindh, Sir Hugh Dow (1941�"1946) and Sir Francis Mudie (1946�"1947), also lived in the complex.

Post-independence over the Governor's House Karachi

Following Pakistan's independence in the month of August 1947 and Karachi's designation as the country's capital, the infrastructure became the residence of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its 1st Governor-General. From that point onward, the building became famous as the “Governor-General's House” and was utilized as an official residence by entire Governor-Generals of Pakistan who succeeded Jinnah. Jinnah had sustained to reside in the house until his death in the month of September 1948. In the year of 1956, the post of Governor-General was abolished and replaced by the President of Pakistan, thus making the last governor-general of the state Pakistan, Iskandar Mirza, the country's 1st elected president. The building was thereafter termed to as the “President's House.” By the time period of 1970s, Karachi was no longer the capital city of Pakistan state; the federal government was moved to Islamabad. With the dissolution of the One Unit scheme and revival of provinces, Karachi was designated the capital city of Sindh. The house instantly became the residence of the Governor of Sindh and sustains to be so as of present.

Source: Sindhi Dunya | Photographs from web

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