The Quaid-e-Azam Residency – also known as Ziarat Residency – is one of the most widely visited national monuments in Pakistan. It is this residency of Ziarat wherein the ‘Founder of Nation’ Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah retreated from Karachi in June 1948, and spent the last 70 days of his life in the valley of Ziarat.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah rushed to the beautiful valley of centuries-old Juniper forests for his recreation when doctors advised him to rest on account of his shrinking health. During this two-month and ten days period in Ziarat, Jinnah did not remain sedentary and continued executing official responsibilities as the first year of the independence was busiest and most anxious.
Historically, the wooden edifice of the residency was constructed by the colonial British rulers in 1862; which is spread over 8000 square feet. The British rulers erected such buildings for the officers’ stay after having been fettered the native people under British subjugation. Initially, the woody architecture of the residency in Ziarat was aimed at to be an infirmary before it was adapted as a summer residence for the Agent of the Governor General. But later on, after the inception of Pakistan, the residency has been declared a national monument and heritage site attaching a great architectural importance with.
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