Nazimabad ناظم آباد | |
|---|---|
 A view of Nazimabad, Karachi | |
 Interactive map of Nazimabad ناظم آباد | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Sindh |
| District | Central Karachi |
| Established | 1952 |
| Named after | Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Government | |
| • Constituency | NA-249 Karachi Central-III |
Nazimabad (Urdu:ناظم آباد,Sindhi:نئون ناظم آباد) is asuburb ofKarachi,Pakistan.[1] It was established in 1952, and is named after the second Governor General of PakistanKhawaja Nazimuddin. Nazimabad is located inLiaquatabad Town.[2][3][4][5] One of the largest government own hospitals in Karachi namely Abbasi Shaheed Hospital also situated in Nazimabad No. 5 The Abbasi Shaheed Hospital has 24/7 emergency/trauma facility. The Karachi Matriculation Board is also located in Nazimabad No. 5 The highly populated colony Paposh Nagar is also located in Nazimabad.
Before the independence ofPakistan, the area of the present day Nazimabad wassemi-arid land with smallSindhi andBalochi villages nearly 10KM from downtown Karachi. TheGovernment of Pakistan bought the land in 1950 from the local landlord and tribal leader Masti Brohi Khan in order to resettle theMuslim refugees that were living intent cities in central Karachi. Nazimabad was planned and developed starting in 1952 and the land was sold at reduced prices to the refugees. This suburb was named afterKhawaja Nazimuddin who was the secondGovernor-General of Pakistan, and later the secondprime minister as well.[4]
In late 1958, the northern area of Nazimabad was to be developed asTimuria byKarachi Improvement Trust (KIT). The nameNorth Nazimabad became popular and was later adopted instead of Timuria.North Nazimabad was developed as a residential area for federal government employees. But in the early 1960s, the capital ofPakistan was transferred fromKarachi to newly developed capitalIslamabad.
In the 1950s, Nazimabad was developed in the outskirts of Karachi and now it is in the central part of the city because of theurban sprawl. Nazimabad was considered an Elite Class neighborhood in the 1960-1970s and later it became Upper middle class area as many Elite Class residents moved to the newer developed upscalesuburbs andexurbs of Karachi.[4] Starting in late 1950s, the overwhelming majority of Karachi's intellectuals lived in Nazimabad as it was one of the posh neighborhood of Karachi.[4] Starting in the 1990s, Nazimabad was considered to be a Middle class residential neighborhood. The old houses are being demolished and in its place newApartment,Flat andCommercial buildings are being constructed.
Nazimabad is divided into five residential blocks, Block I to V and commercial from VI to VII. The Block I-V are residential areas with family dwellings. The Block IV of Nazimabad has the largest category of plots with size ranging from 240 to 2000 sq. yards.
After devolution plan for municipalities was implemented in 2001,Karachi Division was divided into 18 towns. Whereby Nazimabad was made part of theLiaquatabad Town. WhileNorth Nazimabad was named as one of the towns of Karachi.
In January 2022, as part of a Sindh provincial local government reorganization, Nazimabad became one of the seven Union Councils forming the newly established Nazimabad Town within Karachi Central District. The council system was notified in April 2023 under the Sindh Local Government & Housing Town Planning Department.[6]
In mid-2025, North Nazimabad Block B was reported to have achieved uninterrupted 24‑hour electricity service after over 1,600 residents were moved out of scheduled load‑shedding, marking a significant improvement in local power infrastructure.[7]
Nazimabad is referenced in the populardrama serialsZindagi Gulzar Hai andMaat onHum TV. These series were telecast in Pakistan in 2013 and in 2015 onZindagi. In theZindagi Gulzar Hai drama serial, Nazimabad is portrayed as a Middle Class area of Karachi,but at the same time few blocks of Nazimabad belongs to the Upper Middle Class
The Green Line of the Karachi Metrobus system, operational since December 2021, includes a stop at Nazimabad No.1, improving public transport connectivity in the suburb.[citation needed]
The population of Nazimabad is estimated to be over million people. It is dominated by theMuhajirs.[8] Along with Muhajirs, the other population includes,Sindhis,Punjabis,Saraikis,Balochs, etc. Over 98 percent of the population isMuslim with small minority ofChristians.[9]
If we go to Gulshan or Nazimabad (Muhajir neighbourhoods) and we see all of the schools and the businesses and the clean roads, we realise, where are we living? But just as Muttahida [the MQM] did it for themselves, it's for us to worry