ISLAMABAD: Two historic vintage cars, the Mercedes Pullman 600 and the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, have been added to the Pakistan Monument Museum.

Their exhibit was inaugurated by caretaker Prime Minister retired Justice Nasirul Mulk on Monday, around a month after he stopped the proposed auction of the Pullman 600 that the Prime Minister’s Office had advertised in May.

After he stopped the auction of the vehicle, Mr Mulk directed for the Pullman and the Rolls-Royce to be restored and placed in the Pakistan Monument Museum as national assets.

According to an introductory note at the museum, the 1970 Mercedes Pullman remained in the use of president Yahya Khan and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and was also used by foreign dignitaries such as Palestinian president Yasir Arafat, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, Libyan president Col Moammar Gaddafi, Saudi king Faisal bin Abdul Aziz and others during their visits to Pakistan.

Addition was inaugurated by PM a month after he cancelled auction of Mercedes Pullman 600

The Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was built in 1976 and gifted to Bhutto by Saudi king Shah Khalid bin Abdul Aziz the same year. It remained in the use of Bhutto, prime minister Benazir Bhutto and foreign dignitaries including Shah Khalid bin Aziz, Prince Karim Aga Khan, Sheikh Sultan bin Al Nahyan, the premier of China, prime minister of Japan, former world boxing champion Mohammad Ali and princess Diana.

Both cars were restored by Hakas as a complementary project.

According to a press release issued by the Press Information Department, the prime minister during his visit to the museum expressed the hope that the “showcasing of cars will help the young and coming generations learn about Pakistan’s history and also the tradition of hospitality rendered to the visiting international guests.”

In addition to the new vehicles, the museum also houses a collection of historic pictures and articles of national leaders, including Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Fatimah Jinnah and various galleries, which the prime minister visited.

Three car enthusiasts – Haris Aziz Khan, Karmi Yusuf and Moin Abbasi – had also played a role in the cancellation of the Pullman auction as they had written to the cabinet secretary asking for the auction to be cancelled.

In their letter, they wrote that the car was one of the most expensive and sought after cars in the world, and has been popular with world-renowned celebrities and politicians.

They said the car is a national asset of historical significance and should not land in private hands.

The vehicle is considered a cult classic, they said, and is highly desirable worldwide.

If the auction is not cancelled there would be a strong probability that the vehicle would be exported out of Pakistan and sold in the international market, they wrote.

Speaking to Dawn on Monday, Mr Khan expressed gratitude to the prime minister for cancelling the auction.

He also said the addition of the two cars would lead to more visitors for the museum.

“There is no transport museum in Pakistan and historical cars are placed in various museums. The government should take steps for a dedicated museum for historical cars,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2018