Ayub National Park, commonly known as Ayub Park or, historically, Topi Rakh Park (''Rakh'' lit. ''reserve'' in Potwari), is a national park located on the

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

, not far away from the old presidency in Rawalpindi,

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

. The park was established before the creation of Pakistan and covers an area of . It was named after the former President of Pakistan

Field Marshal Ayub Khan Muhammad Ayub Khan (Urdu: ; 14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974), was the second President of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958, the first successful coup d'état in the country's h ...

. It is the largest park in the

Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area The Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area (Urdu:) is 3rd largest metropolitan area of Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore. It consists Pakistan of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, along with several gated suburbs include Chaklala Ca ...

, and is claimed to be one of the largest in Asia.

History

The park was established during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

as the Topi Rakh Park as a popular picnic spot. In 1959, it was converted into a national park during the reign of Ayub Khan, with Rawalpindi Cantonment Board tasked with its administration. The park's open air theater, the only one in the then-capital Rawalpindi, used to host top cultural and social gatherings. However, the park was neglected over the years, almost falling into disuse in the early 1990s. In 2001, President

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

handed over its control to the Army Heritage Foundation, which oversaw extensive development work there, establishing play areas, jogging tracks, and lawns. On 16 November 2021, a 'Miracle Garden' was inaugurated at the park, along with a waste recycling plant and

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

Features

Cricket ground

The south side of the park, once covered with mud and wild growth, was developed into a cricket facility in 2014. A flood-lit cricket ground and practice nets were established. The ground soon became a hub for night tournaments in Ramadan, with a dozen clubs and thousands of players availing it every night. The ground also hosted the PCB U16 National One-Day Tournament in 2021.

Hockey ground

An AstroTurf

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

ground was inaugurated by Chief of Army Staff

Qamar Javed Bajwa General Qamar Javed Bajwa ( ur, ; born 11 November 1960) is a retired Pakistani army general who served as the tenth Chief of the Army Staff of Pakistan from 29 November 2016 to 29 November 2022. In 2018 he was ranked 68th in the ''Forbes' ...

at the park on 21 January 2022. The ground was developed by Army Heritage Foundation and

Mari Petroleum Mari Petroleum Company Limited (MPCL) ( ur, ) is a Pakistani petroleum exploration and production company based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The company is controlled by the Fauji Foundation with 40 percent shares.barracks present in the park have been converted to resorts which can be rented for overnight stays.

Jungle World

The Jungle World theme park contains an animal-themed amusement park and a zoo. In September 2020, 44 animals were shifted from

Islamabad Zoo Islamabad Zoo ( ur, ), previously Marghazar Zoo, was an zoo in Islamabad Capital Territory. It was opened in 1978, and was under the administration of Capital Development Authority of Pakistan before its closure in December 2020 due to its mist ...

to the Jungle World after the zoo was shut down due to lack of adequate facilities. They included three wolves, four black bulls, four blue bulls, four urials, five rabbits, seven monkeys, and seventeen rabbits. As of 2022, the zoo houses 130 species of animals and more than 200 birds.

References