KARACHI, Dec 24: An exhibition in connection with the 136th birth anniversary of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah opened at the National Museum of Pakistan on Monday.

As usual, the exhibits include some very important original documents from the freedom movement as well as objects that were either in use of the Quaid-i-Azam or were presented to him. The added feature is a wide variety of black and white photographs that adorn the wall of the exhibition hall, some of which are a window into the kind of life that the great leader led.As soon as the viewer enters the hall right in the middle there is a showcase displaying some objects given to the Quaid by distinguished individuals and organisations, the most prominent of which is a sword presented to him by office-bearers of the All India Muslim League Aligarh. Behind it are a lighter that he used and a crescent-and-star batch.

Towards the right of the hall some documents are on display. One of them is ‘The Constitution and Rules of the All India Muslim League’ published by Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan in 1943.

Perhaps the most interesting items are the pictures of the Quaid and his family taken in the days when partition hadn’t taken place. The standout photograph is of his daughter, Dina, in the extreme right corner of the wall. It is an image of a beautiful young woman, brimming with life, staring outside the frame. Apart from that, photographs of different delegations meeting with the Quaid during the freedom movement depict the political side to the series of pictures.

It is sad that not a big number of people visit the museum on such important occasions. The museum authorities need to work out a plan to better advertise their displays and to make them more inventive and interactive.