Frere Hall | Pakistan

World War II memorial shields and other high-value items were stolen from an office of the director general of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) Parks Department in the city’s iconic Frere Hall, it emerged on Saturday. The building, one of the most iconic in the metropolis, was completed in 1865 and a US-funded restoration project was completed last year. A first information report (FIR), available with Dawn.com, was filed under Section 380 (theft in dwelling) of the Pakistan Penal Code by the deputy director of the KMC Parks Department at Artillery Maidan police station on July 7. “The suspects have stolen a DVD player, one speaker, five World War II memorial shields and a cable of precious shield copper,” the FIR read. It claimed that the items were stolen by unidentified burglars, who broke the windows and entered Frere Hall during the Ashura holidays. The complainant said that the DG Parks office had been closed on July 4 at 10pm for the Ashura holidays. When the office re-opened on July 7 at aro...