Allama Iqbal Town
Allama Iqbal Town علامہ اقبال ٹاؤن | |
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Residential area | |
Iqbal Town Location in Lahore | |
Coordinates: 31°30′40″N 74°17′2″E / 31.51111°N 74.28389°ECoordinates: 31°30′40″N 74°17′2″E / 31.51111°N 74.28389°E | |
Country | Pakistan |
Province | Punjab |
City | Lahore |
Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Lahore GPO (54000) | 54570 |
Area code(s) | 042 |
Allama Iqbal Town (Urdu: علامہ اقبال ٹاؤن) (also known as Iqbal Town or abbreviated as AIT) is a commercial and high end residential locality in the south-western Lahore.It is named after Allama Iqbal, the national poet of Pakistan. Development was started in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was previously famed for its name in Urdu, 'Sola Soo Acre سولہ سو ایکڑ' (meaning 1600 acres), due to its area. Its extent is marked by Multan Road to the west and north, and by Wahdat Road to the south.
Iqbal Town has been home to famous actors and actresses of Pakistan's film industry, Lollywood. Because the Shahnoor and Bari studios are situated very close to the area, many film actors and actresses used to live here in the past. However, most of them have now moved to the posh suburban areas of the city. Iqbal town's main boulevard is one of the busiest road of Lahore. It has also a parking plaza in moon market. College block, Pak block, Asif Block, Kashmir block, Huma block and Jahanzeb block are situated on the main boulevard which starts from scheme more and leads towards wahdat rd and than Punjab university campus.
Neighboring localities constitute of Wahdat Colony, Ichhra, Samanabad, Garden Town, Mustafa Town, Sabzazar and Said Pur. Major markets (broad ways) are Karim Market (adjacent to Umer Block and Karim Block) - famous for the garments shops located there) and Moon Market (Dubai Chowk).
The oldest open university in Pakistan Allama Iqbal Open University's Lahore campus is located in Raza Block of Allama Iqbal Town. It also houses the Karim Market nearby.
Allama Iqbal Town consists of a total of 22 residential divisions called 'blocks' listed alphabetically: Asif, Badr, College, Gulshan, Huma, Jahanzeb, Kamran, Karim, Kashmir, Mehran, Muslim, Nargis, Neelam, Nishtar, Nizam, Pak, Raza, Ravi, Sikander, Sutlej, Umar and Zeenat.
Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park
This park has been a source of entertainment and enjoyment in the area for almost three decades now. It was opened to general public in April, 1982. Ali Jabbar is a famous personality of this area.
On Easter, March 27, 2016, the park was bombed, killing scores of civilians.
Karim Market
The Karim Market is a local market area situated in the Karim Block of the town.[1] along the Wahdat Road. The market contains a number of grocery, retail and garment shops as well as eateries and restaurants.[2] There are also some petrol pumps, a Gourmet bakery and branches of the Punjab Bank, MCB and Allied Bank within the premises of the market.