Strolled through the mile long Clifton Necklace with a friend today. It’s a mile-long strip of six interconnected parks, from Nehr-e-Khayyam to Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim. Saw a grand total of maybe 15 people in all parks combined. Here is what you’re all missing out on: 
1: the Urban Forest. It’s in better shape than ever, & decked with a natural play area for children. Still a work in progress, but stumbling upon the lavender patch in the last photo was such a joyful experience! The fragrance was incredible. Zero visitors enjoying all this.
2, the Nadeem bin Wali Muhammad is a desolate patch of burnt grass, across the Urban Forest, surrounded by houses that were mostly using it as a car park. A narrow walkway connects it to 3, the equally bare & unimpressive Family Park around the Karachi Metropolitan Library.
4. The most populated of all these, the Aunty Park. Ironically enough, this was the ONLY park with an entrance fee. The rest are all free. Moments of joy: a group of children practicing karate, & a new terrazzo slide. Be careful: you’ll slide down fast!
5. The most ornate of all, the Mucca/Hosh Muhammad Sheedi Park, with its Mughal garden inspired marble pavilions & water fountains, all dry & out of order. The park’s exit which could directly connect it to the next one is the most glamorous garbage dump I’ve seen in Karachi.
6. The most beautifully landscaped, terraced & recently recovered Bagh-e-Rustom. Again, zero visitors. The park can easily be connected to Ibn-e-Qasim with an underground walkway, taking this necklace all the way to the beach.
It’s sad that these parks are wasted on Cliftonites. Most of them don’t need it: they have lawns/gardens within their homes. The apartment dwellers are probably too scared of getting mugged to use them. But we shouldn’t let this go to waste.
Connect the Urban Forest to Benazir Park via Nehr-e-Khayyam, and Rustom to Ibn-e-Qasim via a subterranean walkway. Connect all of them as a single parkway, and open up this entire Necklace to thousands of visitors who come from across the city, starved for open spaces 🌳💎🌊
Bonus content: I took the @pbsbrtsindh from my home to Clifton and back. Some glamour shots of the beautiful buses as happy ending 📸🚌
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