BAHAWALPUR: The 56th death anniversary of Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi was observed in the Bahawalpur division.

The provincial government offices remained closed on Tuesday as Deputy Commissioner Irfan Ali Kathiya had declared May 24 a local holiday while the subordinate courts under the administrative control of the Lahore High Court (LHC) also were shut as a mark of respect for the late emir.

A number of institutions and social organisations held functions and seminars to recall the services of Nawab Sadiq. The main function was held by the Cantonment Board Bahawalpur (CBB) and a statue of Nawab Sadiq had been installed at the main road near Circuit House.

Members of the Abbasi Royal family including former Punjab Assembly deputy speaker Sahibzada Muhammad Usman Daud Abbasi and his brother Umar Abbasi unveiled the statue.

CBB Executive Officer Rana Ramiz Shafqat said it was for the first time that “Sadiq Memorial” had been built as a mark of respect for the Nawab for his meritorious services. He said the whole nation was indebted to the generosity of the late Nawab who acceded to merge his state into Pakistan in 1947. The intersection has been named “Sadiq Chowk”.

The CBB chief told Dawn that the memorial consisted of a life-size sculpture prepared with fibre by Karachi artist Mirza Asim at a cost of Rs250,000. “It has been fixed on a grand platform with six walls around it depicting various phases of his life. The statue and platform have been protected from thieves and vagabonds,” he added.

At the function at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), the speakers eulogised Nawab Sadiq for his services for the cause of education.

The main speakers were Prince Bahawal Khan Abbasi (crown prince of Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi), Station Commander Brig Rasheed Ahmed of Bahawalpur Cantonment Board, former parliamentarian Syed Tabish Alwari, IUB Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Athar Mehboob and Divisional Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar.

GIRLS RESCUED: District Emergency Officer Baqir Hussain claimed on Tuesday that rescue personnel saved lives of four minor girls from drowning in the canal near Head Rajkan in Yazman tehsil about 50km from here.

Ayesha, 9, Noor Fatima, 7, Hafza, 7, and Misbah Naeem, 12, fell into the canal and rescuers with the help of locals fished them out.

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2022