KARACHI, Feb 20: People have begun trickling into one of the oldest parks in the city, Bagh-i-Jinnah, after security officials were quietly withdrawn from the place a few days ago in the wake of the relocation of the American consulate from its vicinity to the Mai Kolachi bypass area.

Security barriers and checkpoints set up on Abdullah Haroon Road along the park a few years ago by different security agencies have also been removed, clearing the way for all kinds of vehicles, including public transport, to freely pass through.

During a visit to the park, a few children were seen playing cricket and a middle-aged man reclining on a bench was watching the gentlemen’s game.

The number of visitors to the park, which also houses an architectural monument comprising a gallery and a public library, had dwindled over the past few years due to security restrictions.

The Bagh-i-Jinnah is sandwiched between Abdullah Haroon Road where the consulate-general of United States was located until recently and Fatima Jinnah Road along which the US consul-general residence is situated.

Entry of buses, minibuses, vans and pickup trucks to Abdullah Haroon Road had been banned for past some years for the security of US consulate-general after a bomb explosion near the place. The road was found opened to general traffic after the consulate was relocated to a place along the Mai Kolachi Bypass and Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan Road a few weeks back.

However, entry to Fatima Jinnah Road is still restricted with security barriers because the consul-general residence has not been shifted so far. Speaking to Dawn, police officials on duty said that the shifting of the residence had also been planned, but the decision was changed after some unrest was reported in the Sultanabad area that neighbours the new location of the consulate. He said it had been decided that the residence would stay here for the time being and so would the restrictions on entry to the Fatima Jinnah Road.

“The entry and exit points of the Bagh-i-Jinnah facing Abdullah Haroon Road have been reopened and since no general announcement has been made by the government in this regard, the people in general do not know about it,” said a park visitor who lives nearby. He added that people in fact entered the park when they saw no security personnel around and their confidence increased when no official intervened even at a later stage. “Now you can see people strolling in the sprawling lawns,” he said, recalling that he used to come to the park until security personnel moved in some years ago. He said he was happy that people had finally got the public park back.

The young children playing cricket at one side of the park told Dawn that they had never watched anyone playing in the park until recently though their parents had told them that the park used to be open for public. Earlier, there were some strange people in the park who harassed children attempting to enter, said a boy who lives nearby. He added: “We had to visit Polo Ground (Gulshan-i-Jinnah), which is comparatively far from this place, but now we can come here and play.”

Some children said a few people recently told them that the barbed wires and barriers would be removed from the park within a couple of days after which they could play and sit in the park as they pleased.

Speaking to Dawn, a city district government spokesperson said that the library and the art gallery in the Frere Hall had never been closed though the number of visitors had declined sharply after the security personnel had moved in. The spokesperson added that the CDGK had nothing to do about it. Now after the security personnel have moved out, the number of visitors to the park, library and gallery has been on the rise and will gradually become normal.