MULTAN, Oct 3: Historic Ali Muhammad Khan Mosque like other sites facing decay in Multan speaks of neglect and dereliction by the authorities concerned.

The mosque currently being looked after by the Auqaf Department requires urgent attention as rare work on its walls and ceiling is fading away and crakes have also appeared in the roof as well as outer walls of the 18th century mosque.

The mosque located in business hub of the city owns several shops constructed in its vicinity and is being run through the income generated through rents and profits.

Commonly known as Masjid Wali Muhammad, it was constructed in middle of Chowk Bazaar by the then Multan governor, Nawab Ali Muhammad Khan Khakwani, in 1753 (1171 Hijri) during the regime of Mughal emperor Alamgir II.

The mosque containing unique Kashigari touch on its interiors housed a spacious prayer hall and a pool for performing ablution and bathing and two rest rooms for worshippers.

During the Sikh regime, the then Sikh governor used to hold his court in the central entrance of the mosque while Garanth Sahib (Sikh scriptures) was used to be placed in the main prayer hall.

Soon after taking the subcontinent’s control, the British rulers handed over the mosque back to the Muslims in the 19th century. The mosque used to be managed by hereditary custodians of Awan family for a long time, was taken over by the Auqaf Department in 1960.

Rafiuddin Qureshi, an unofficial caretaker of the mosque, said the mosque possessed 65 shops and average rent of a shop ranged from Rs15,000 to Rs20,000, but the Auqaf department had never taken interest in maintaining the mosque properly.

He said one of the two small spires of the mosque had been completely destroyed while half part of the other spire had also been destroyed. Its pond was also razed due to its bad condition and a veranda was constructed at the same place around 15 years ago, he added.

He said the locals had got the mosque painted and damaged parts of its walls repaired out of their pockets several times.

Historian and writer Zahoor Ahmed Dhareja said this historical asset of Multan was decaying due to the indifference of the Auqaf department.

He said neither the Auqaf nor the Archaeology department had given any attention to conserve and renovate the mosque’s pond whose demolition had tarnished its historical import.

He said the situation was so pathetic now that the Auqaf department had allowed shopkeepers to extend their shops towards the courtyard of the mosque.

Ghulam Muhammad, the Archaeology department’s Multan office in-charge, said he had sent repairing estimate of the mosque to the Auqaf department and also to his department in 2006 but no funds could be allocated in this connection.

He said he had sent repair estimate of Rs4.5 million to the Auqaf and Archaeology departments again in 2007, but to no avail.

He said his department would start repairing and renovating the mosque soon after the Auqaf authorities would release required funds and also asked them to do so or the mosque was handed over to the Archaeology department officially.

Rafid Maleh, the Auqaf Department’s zonal administration officer, was not available for his comments despite repeated attempts.