A wedding at Lahore Fort’s 400-year old Royal Kitchen sparked public outrage after pictures and videos from the event went viral on social media. This prompted the chief minister, chief secretary and other high authorities to take serious notice of the matter and they pledged action against all those involved in the incident.
According to reports, renowned industrial group Fatima Fertilizer Company had booked the UNESCO World Heritage Site for a corporate event. However, they decided to host a mehndi there instead. The Walled City of Lahore Authority said that the company was given permission to hold a corporate dinner but they went against the rules and that legal action will be taken against them.
The permission letter, addressed to Major Asjad Nawaz Cheema, which is being circulated on social media clearly stated that fireworks, live cooking, hooks and nails among other things are strictly prohibited.
The letter also only gave permission for a ‘private dinner’. WCLA DG Kamran Lashari also shared that the application had said that the dinner would consist of 100 participants (business people) only. However, there were close to 400 people at the event.
The kitchen was rented out for Rs500,000 with a refundable Rs100,000 security deposit.
Chief Secretary Punjab took notice of the incident while the WCLA suspended the fort’s in-charge Bilal Tahir for negligence and also formally requested for an FIR to be lodged against Fatima Fertilizer Company.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar also condemned the incident and said in a press release that “Organising a marriage ceremony at the Lahore Fort is a serious offence.”
Meanwhile Fatima Fertlizer Company Limited rejected the media reports and the claims of the WCLA and said that the function was held in line with the instructions of the WCLA.
“It was neither mehndi nor valima, it was just a dinner hosted by our company in honour of its guests,” said the company’s Corporate Affairs Manager. “We are a responsible firm and we can never think of flouting the laws, rules & regulations, policies and guidelines of the public and private sector organisations.”
