One of the most populous cities in the world, Karachi was once the administrative capital of Pakistan. It is the country’s principal seaport and a major commercial and industrial centre in the region. It is because of this reason you will spot many age-old structures that have housed some of the most important government offices in Karachi. Most of these buildings are found in and around historical areas like Saddar.
Listing Down the 10 Main Government Offices in Karachi
There’s an important road in Karachi called “Aiwan-e-Saddar” (Parliament House); a poignant remnant of the times when the metropolis was the centre of all administrative matters of the country. Though Islamabad was made the capital of Pakistan by the end of the 1960s, Karachi still has many old buildings that are, to this day, in federal, provincial or local government’s use. So, let’s have a look at some of the official government buildings in Karachi.
- Supreme Court of Pakistan
- Income Tax Building
- Chief Minister Sindh’s Secretariat
- Governor House Karachi
- KMC Building
- Sindh Assembly
- Civic Centre
- Sindh High Court
- State Bank of Pakistan
- Karachi Stock Exchange
Supreme Court – Karachi Branch Registry
Credits: The Headquarters
Known as the highest appellate court in the judicial system of Pakistan, the Supreme Court is headquartered in Islamabad while it has branches in different cities of Pakistan. Similar is the case of Karachi Branch Registry of Supreme Court. A delegation of supreme court judges, including the chief justice of Pakistan, keep visiting this place to hear different cases.
Supreme Court’s Karachi Branch Registry was established in 1957. As per the constitution of Pakistan, it is the apex court in judicial hierarchy, which means it can review any of the judgements or verdicts issued by Karachi High Court.
Current Chief Justice of Pakistan: Asif Latif Khosa
Address: M. R. Kiyani Rd. (Ingle Rd.), Saddar, Karachi
Contact: (021) 99212306
Chief Minister Sindh Secretariat
While travelling from Club Road to PIDC, you would come across a few important government offices in Karachi and Chief Minister Sindh’s Secretariat is one of them. It is the official residence and workplace of the head of Sindh Government.
Along with leading the house in Sindh Assembly, the Chief Minister of Sindh has the responsibility of overseeing the provincial as well as local government system. Moreover, the progress made in the infrastructure as well as other projects benefiting the general public in the province has to be looked after by CM Sindh.
Current Chief Minister of Sindh: Syed Murad Ali Shah
Address: Club Road, Civil Lines, Karachi
Contact: (021) 99222949-50
Income Tax Building
Credits: Flickr
The Income Tax Building, which is also known as the Income Tax House, is one of the key government institutions in Karachi as most of the offices in it operate under the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Pakistan, which is counted among the top level state-owned institutions.
FBR in Pakistan has the right to govern tax laws as well as collecting information on the phenomenon of tax evasion in the country to take necessary actions against the wrongdoers. Apart from investigating financial crimes, FBR is the central revenue collection agency of Pakistan.
Current Department Executive of FBR: Syed Shabbar Zaidi
Address: Kamal Ataturk Road, Saddar, Karachi
Contact: (021) 111 688 688
Governor House Karachi
Governor House in Karachi was previously known as the Government House. Since Karachi was the capital city of Pakistan once, it had remained the office of Governor General of Pakistan for quite a few years. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who was the first Governor General of Pakistan had stayed in this place during the post-independence era after 1947.
Traces of the origin of this buildings goes back to 1939, making it one of the oldest government offices in Karachi. As the capital of Pakistan was moved to Islamabad decades ago, the Governor House in Karachi is now the official residence of Governor of Sindh.
Current Governor of Sindh: Imran Ismail
Address: Aiwan-e-Sadar Road, Civil Lines, Karachi
Contact: (021) 99201201
KMC Building Karachi
Credits: Facebook / Awami Web
Recognized as one of the most famous official government buildings in Karachi, the foundation stone of KMC building was laid almost over 90 years back in 1927. The building was inaugurated in 1927. Currently, it serves as the main office of the Karachi Municipal Corporation.
In 2007, the City District Government Karachi organized the celebration of Diamond Jubilee as KMC Building completed its 75 years. Major renovation projects were carried out at the vicinity including the repairing work of the clock tower. KMC is one of the government offices in Karachi that has become its key landmark.
Current Mayor of Karachi: Wasim Akhtar
Address: Adhumal Oodharam Quarter, M. A Jinnah Road, Karachi
Sindh Assembly
Provincial Assembly of Sindh is housed in a two-story building in Karachi featuring offices for the Chief Minister, Assembly Speaker and other ministers. There is also a library in the building with a huge collection of legal and other informative books.
It took two years for the structure of Provincial Assembly of Sindh to get completed and it was inaugurated in the year 1942. Since then it has been serving as one of the important government institutions in Karachi. The central portion of the building has an Assembly Hall with a seating capacity of 168 people.
Current Speaker of Sindh Assembly: Agha Siraj Durrani
Address: Sindh Assembly Building، Court Rd, Saddar, Karachi
Contact: (021) 9212000
Civic Centre
Credits: Express Tribune
Civic Centre is home to many key government offices in Karachi like headquarters of the Local Government and the office of Mayor Karachi. Moreover, the main office of Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), formerly known as Karachi Building Control Authority, is also located here.
Civic Centre is visited by a large number of Karachiites on a daily basis since it is the place where they can deal with the matters of vehicle registration and taxation as Excise Department exists here. Plus, the Command and Control Centre of Traffic Police is also a part of the Civic Centre building.
Address: University Rd, Block 14 Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi
Sindh High Court
Known as the highest court of appeal for the province, Sindh High Court exist in a building that was constructed in 1929. The building features multiple court rooms and chambers. In 1974, an additional annexe building was constructed in the North-East side of the building.
Currently Sindh High Court building provides office accommodation to many important government and legal officials. The hearing sessions of the Federal Shariah Court of Pakistan Regional Registry are also commenced here. Sindh High Court’s bench comprises a Chief Justice along with 27 other judges.
Current Chief Justice of Sindh High Court: Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh
Address: Court Road, Saddar Karachi
Contact: (021) 99203151
State Bank of Pakistan
State Bank of Pakistan is headquartered in the city of Karachi, which is the financial hub of Pakistan. It is situated in a very unique and antique building having amazing architecture. In the light of State Bank Act passed in 1956, State Bank of Pakistan serves as the central bank of the country.
The State Bank of Pakistan is responsible for the creation and implementation of monetary regulations that have to be followed by all the other public and private banks in Pakistan. Overlooking the flow of Pakistani Currency in local market is another reason why it is counted among important state-owned institutions in Karachi.
Current Governor of State Bank of Pakistan: Tariq Bajwa
Address: I.I. Chundrigar Road Karachi Pakistan
Contact: (021) 111-727-111
Karachi Stock Exchange
Credits: Masoffer
Karachi Stock Exchange, which has now been merged into Pakistan Stock Exchange along with Islamabad and Lahore Stock Exchange, was one of the oldest and best performing government offices in Karachi dealing in share stocks and other forms of finances. In 1949, Karachi Stock Exchange began operations with only five registered companies.
According to Bloomberg, Pakistan Stock Market index is one of the best performing stock market indices in the world. Amidst many other skyscrapers on II Chundrigar Road, the building of Pakistan Stock Exchange can be easily spotted.
Current Chairman of PSX: Sulaiman S. Mehdi
Address: Stock Exchange Building, Stock Exchange Road, Lalazar, Off II Chundrigar Road, Karachi
Contact: (021) 111 001 122
Properties in Saddar Karachi
Almost all of the important government offices in Karachi are located in the area of Saddar. If you’re searching for a new home in the city, then don’t forget to explore this popular locality. Simply log on to Zameen.com to search through a variety of residential properties available for sale in Saddar Karachi.
For similar information about other cities of Pakistan, you can check out this blog about the famous government buildings in Islamabad. Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to Zameen Blog, which is Pakistan’s most diverse lifestyle blog, to catch more of our interesting and informative pieces.
