A 17-feet tall sculpture of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah has been installed at the Pakistan Military Academy, Kakul Abbottabad.
The 17-feet sculpture of Quaid-e-Azam has been made by the renowned sculptor, Fakeero Solanki. Pictures of the statue of Quaid-e-Azam went viral on social media on weekend, and they garnered widespread praise from internet users.
He had earlier prepared two more statues of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah. One of the earlier two statues has been placed at the Quaid-e-Azam residency in Ziarat, Balochistan. The statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Sharing the pictures of the statue on Twitter, Fakeero Solanki wrote: “Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Sculpture in Fiberglass size, 4’x17’x4′ ft PMA Kakul Abbottabad Pakistan Fakeero Solanki 2021.”
Ap subh ka bhohat bhohat shukria
Mery kam ko pasand krny ky leay,Sda khush rhen muskraty rhen dowaon men yad 🌷
— Fakeero solanki (@FKaantheso) October 10, 2021
In another tweet, he expressed gratitude for the praise and appreciation he received.
Lately, authorities have been paying a special focus on installing and protecting the statues of significant historical figures across Pakistan.
Read more: Indian sculptor Manjit Singh pays respect to Shaukat Ali with a sculpture
Earlier, a hockey stick and ball were reportedly stolen from the statue of Hockey player Samiullah Khan erected in Bahawalpur. Pictures of the statue without hockey and ball were being circulated on social media.
The statue was erected at the Hospital Chowk in the Olympian’s hometown of Bahawalpur. It was placed to honor his legacy who was popularly known as ‘Flying Horse’. Residents say few days after the installation, the hockey stick was seen missing following that the ball was also reportedly stolen.
The authorities took notice and re-erected new hockey and a ball with the statue. Police have registered the case of theft at Cantt Police Station.
As the pictures went viral on social media, Twitteratis expressed remorse on the theft of hockey and ball. Users said that it is a shame how even the statues of the national icons are on the radar of thieves. Others said that there is a poor custom of honoring the legends and national heroes in Pakistan.
Back in February, Punjab Government had announced to renew and repair the sculpture of legendary poet Allama Iqbal installed at a park in Lahore.
The government came into action after intense social media reactions. A picture of the sculptor went viral on social media this weekend triggering a fierce debate. A majority of social media users believed that sculpture was of sub-standard quality and targeted the government for disrespecting the iconic poet of Pakistan.
Read more: Two officials suspended over Allama Iqbal’s sculpture controversy in Lahore
Assuming the sculpture had been erected by the government, the social media users directed a savage criticism that it hardly resembled Iqbal. However, it was later revealed that the sculpture had been made and erected by the gardeners working in the park in a move to honor the legendary poet. The gardeners said they had built the sculpture from their pocket and had not received any monetary support from the government. They collected the scrap material to create a sculpture, however, lacked resources to paint it. Hence, they placed it in the raw form.