Zaibunnisa Street

Zaibunnisa (Zebunnissa, Zaib-un-Nissa) Street is a street in Karachi, Pakistan. Located in the neighbourhood of Saddar (the heart of the city), it is one of Karachi's oldest and most historic streets.

It was originally known as Elphinstone Street in honour of Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779–1859), a British official who played an important role in the colonization of India. Elphinstone was the first British ambassador to Afghanistan and helped defeat the Peshwas in Maharashtra before 1820. He served as Governor of Bombay Presidency, of which Karachi was a part until the 1930s. In 1970, the street's name was changed to 'Zaibunnisa Street' by the government of Karachi in honour of Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, an influential Pakistani journalist and writer.

Zaibunnisa Street is one of Karachi's most popular shopping districts. A few consulates and hotels are also found on the street as well. It is one of the city's treasures; as such, it is subjected to copious amounts of pollution from transport. Before the population and pollution explosions in Karachi it was called 'Karachi's Piccadilly Circus' by foreigners as it shows historic colonial buildings from the British Raj era.

Since Saddar does not house a sizable residential population, it has suffered financially due to the development of other shopping districts in areas that have a large residential population. As a result, people no longer have to travel to Saddar in order to purchase goods. Jewellery and the men's footwear markets have been particularly affected, since these commodities make up most of Zaibunnisa Street's shops. Despite this, major stores of Karachi, such as Bata, Chottani Jewelers, English Boot House, Sputnik Footwear and Fitrite continue to have a presence in the market, although business has been on the decline. Many Karachiites feel that the city administration of Karachi should utilize the historical architecture of Zaibunnisa Street as leverage in order to revive the market. Shopkeepers feel that the city's administrators should give the street's severely deteriorating architecture some much needed attention. They must implement and organize a marketing campaign in order to attract people back to Karachi's cultural shopping district and support the economy.

This important road and surrounding areas suffer from persistent traffic. This too has discouraged former shoppers from visiting Saddar since it has become nearly impossible to find parking spots. Local businessmen have requested the city planners to either organize parking in nearby areas or to make Zaibunnisa Street a pedestrian-only zone, which could help re-attract customers nearby.

See also

• Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah
• List of famous streets of Karachi

External links

• His mother’s day – Daily Dawn.com