Freemasonry in Pakistan

Many people are unaware that Pakistan, prior to and even after independence, housed a plethora of Freemason lodges. Although Freemasonry is now banned in Pakistan, it enjoyed its apex under British rule. Freemasons had lodges throughout the country but have since been removed by a law passed by Mr. Bhutto in 1972. Lodges were present all over the country most notably in Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Murree, Peshawar, Kohat, Lyallpur (now Faisalabad), Chittagong (East Pakistan) etc.

Mr. Rafique Khan, a Pakistani born in Rawalpindi in 1925 and writing for the website NativePakistan.com, states that Rawalpindi had three lodges, one of which was present in Rawalpindi Cantonment on Canning Road opposite of Gurgaon Dry Cleaners. This lodge used to be called “Jadoo Ghar'' by the locals. Only members who had their rings engraved with the Masonic insignia were allowed inside.

The Freemasons are also infamous for their secret handshakes, grips, signs, symbols, and rituals which usually only members are privy to.

The locals used to recognize Masons by their secret and idiosyncratic handshakes that they would perform with each other. The lodges included the Light in the Himalayas No.1448 which was under the Grand Lodge of Scotland, the Stewart Lodge No. 1960 and the Black Mountain Lodge No.1256. It is not sure which one of these three lodges was the “Jadoo Ghar” lodge on Canning Street.

Upon further tedious research and thanks to Lanes Masonic Records (a website), I found out that the Light in the Himalayas No.1448 was located in Murree (RWP district) and another lodge called Lodge Ramsay No.675 was also present in Rawalpindi in the year 1865. Lahore also has some history with regards to the Masons. The famous author of the Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling, was made a Freemason at the Hope and Perseverance Lodge No.782 in Lahore.

This lodge was built in 1859 in Anarkali; its site on Lodge Road is now the Lady Maclagan Government High School. A second Masonic lodge was built in 1914 using the foundation stone of Hope and Perseverance Lodge on land which was once a garden. In the 1980s, the Heritage Foundation Pakistan and passionate Lahori citizens initiated a project to renovate the historic buildings on Mall road, including this one. This lodge later became the Punjab Chief Minister’s Secretariat. The Masons claim that this building still belongs to them and have been locked in a litigation battle with Pakistan for decades.

There were several lodges in Karachi as well, namely Good Companions Lodge No.7180, Indus Lodge No.4325, and Scinde Lodge No.4284. Another lodge named The Hope Lodge was also in the city, which dates back to 1824, but after Freemasonry’s ban it was given to the Sindh Wildlife Department. Adjacent to the Governor House in Karachi, this lodge is located near Fawara Chowk. In 2009, renovations began to protect the building and to use the ground floor as a wildlife museum.

There was also a quiet popular lodge in Peshawar called the Khyber Lodge No.582 EC. The Lodge still has a running website (www.khyber lodge.co.uk) which states that in British Indian Peshawar, it dominated the social scene. The building was used as a place of worship, hospital, library and meeting place. The Khyber lodge interestingly was the one to sponsor the Stewart Lodge No. 1960 in Rawalpindi in 1881 (mentioned above). From 1892 to 1912, the Khyber Lodge boasted of its importance as it contained one of the highest numbers of Freemasons in the entire district.