Give back our Crown Jewel, says Pakistan

A LAWYER in Pakistan has filed a court petition for return of the Koh-i-Noor diamond Britain forced India to hand over in colonial times.

The 105- carat diamond, pictured, was once the largest known in the world and is one of the Crown Jewels.

It is set in a crown last worn by the Queen Mother. Attorney Jawaid Iqbal Jafree filed the court petition naming Queen Elizabeth II as a respondent on Wednesday in the city of Lahore.

He said the Koh-i-Noor belongs to Pakistan’s Punjab province, which was part of British India until 1947.

The application asks that Britain hands back the diamond, now on display in the Tower of London. India has also made regular requests for the jewel’s return, saying it is part of the nation’s history and culture.

Britain’s then colonial governor-general of India arranged for the diamond to be presented to Queen Victoria in 1850.