Pakistan Monument Islamabad a Symbol of National Unity and Strength
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| Pakistan Monument Islamabad |
Pakistan Monument Islamabad is located on western side of Shakarparian Hills. More precisely it is conceived as the National Monument of Pakistan. Pakistan Monument is one of the most recent cultural and symbolic architecture of Pakistan.
National Monument of Pakistan is a symbol of unity. It is high enough to be seen from across the city areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Certainly it has become a famous and attractive tourist spot. It is an important tour point for people who visit Islamabad.
Pakistan Monument Design
Design of the monument is the result of a competition specifically held for this purpose. Various designers and architects presented their designs. Three designs were short listed out of a total 21. Mr. Arif Masoud won the competition and his design was selected as the final design.
Uxi Mufti, son of Mumtaz Mufti, first visualize the plan of The Monument in 2005. Ministry of Culture showed interest in the idea of Monument. After that Pakistan Council of Architects and Town Planners arranged a design competition for the monument. The main theme of this design competition was to symbolize the unity and strength of Pakistani people as a free nation.
Architectural Features
Total area of the monument is twenty eight thousand square meters (28,000 m2). The structure of the monument is like a blooming flower. The monument has 4 large and 3 small petals made up of granite. Four bigger petals have sketches of Lahore Fort, Badshahi Mosque, Minar e Pakistan and Khyber Pass on their inner sides. The four bigger petals represent four provinces of Pakistan i.e, Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and three small petals represent Gilgit Baltistan, Tribal Areas and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan Monument Museum
The monument has an adjoining museum known as Pakistan Monument Museum. The museum represents important historical events following the Pakistan Movement. It has a reference library and a conference hall having 62 seats. This hall is called Panorama Hall. Construction of the Monument started in 2004 and completed in 2006. The final inauguration held on 23 March 2007. President General Parvez Mosharaf inaugurated the Pakistan Monument.
