Polo Ground, Karachi, also known as Gulshan-e-Jinnah or Bagh-i-Quaid-i-Azam (), is a park located on Dr. Ziauddin Ahmed Road and Aiwan-e-Sadar Road in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. This park is spread over 20 acres and has a football ground, Japanese garden, children's recreation area, bird

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Av ...

, and jogging tracks. A baradari is also located there. It also has two five-star hotels nearby. The ground also hosts the biggest Eid congregation in Karachi. Although the ground is officially known as Bagh-i-Quaid-i-Azam, the former name 'Polo Ground' is still widely used by the people of Karachi.

History

Bagh-e-Quaid-e-Azam has historic significance. It was the venue of the first official march-past of the military parade in front of Pakistani political leaders after

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947. This parade was held here and

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

took the salute here as the first

Governor General of Pakistan The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islamic ...

in 1947. The first Eid prayers were organized by the

Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Karachi Metropolitan Corporation () is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan. History 1852 Karachi Conservancy Board was established to control cholera epidemics in Kara ...

at the ground in 1958. The ground sees a multitude of

tape ball cricket Tape or Tapes may refer to: Material A long, narrow, thin strip of material (see also Ribbon (disambiguation): Adhesive tapes * Adhesive tape, any of many varieties of backing materials coated with an adhesive * Athletic tape, pressure-sensiti ...

matches being simultaneously being played in it. It is said that

Hanif Mohammad Hanif Mohammad PP ( ur, , 21 December 1934 – 11 August 2016) was a Pakistani cricketer. He played for the Pakistani cricket team in 55 Test matches between the 1952–53 season and the 1969–70 season. He averaged 43.98 scoring twelve ...

and his four brothers learned the game there in the 1940s and early 1950s. This park was used as a

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

ground Ground may refer to: Geology * Land, the surface of the Earth not covered by water * Soil, a mixture of clay, sand and organic matter present on the surface of the Earth Electricity * Ground (electricity), the reference point in an electrical c ...

before the 1970s. On 26 March 2022,

Administrator Karachi The Administrator Karachi is an Officer in the Pakistan Administrative Services, usually of the elite rank of BS-20 (Grade 20). Incumbent Dr Saif-ur-Rehman, an officer of PAS (BS-20), was appointed as Karachi Administrator on 8 December 202 ...

Murtaza Wahab Murtaza Wahab is a Pakistani politician who is the current Adviser to Chief Minister of Sindh on Rules and regulations. He was a member of the Senate of Pakistan from August 2017 to March 2018. Political career On 30 April 2015, he was inducte ...

inaugurated a bird aviary at the ground. The 100-foot-long and 45-foot-wide enclosure houses 315 birds, including three pairs of

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

and Australian parrots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Polo Ground Parks in Karachi Gardens in Pakistan Memorials to Muhammad Ali Jinnah Eidgahs