WCLA Rents Out Lahore Fort’s Historic Royal Kitchen For ‘Private Dinner’

A wedding event was held at the Lahore Fort’s Royal Kitchen on Thursday night in violation of the provincial government’s regulations.

A notice issued by the Wall City of Lahore Authority (WCLA) shows that it granted permission for a private dinner at the Royal Kitchen, despite the fort being declared a UNESCO Heritage Site.

News reports in media quoted the director general of WCLA as saying that the event was not a wedding, but a corporate dinner.



The DG WCLA has said that the company which held the wedding, Fatima Fertilizer Company, had taken permission for a corporate event, but had instead held a wedding.

The authority has also decided to take legal action against Fatima Fertilizer Company, as the function arranged by the organisation was not the one it had sought permission for.

Though legal action is being pursued in the matter, the act of renting out the historical site for any event also stands in violation of the Pakistan's Federal Antiquities 1975 Act, which, regarding the Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens says, “Protected immovable antiquity’ should not be used for any purpose ‘inconsistent to its character or that directly related to its administration and preservation.”

Users on social media also shared pictures of what was claimed to be the wedding event at Lahore Fort.

https://twitter.com/JahandadKT/status/1215657942688636929?s=20