The revamped Pakistan Chowk was inaugurated on Sunday by PPP MPA Sharmila Farooqi who helmed the project.

Heritage consultant and architect Marvi Mazhar was contacted by Sharmila to cater to the design of the project and after around five months, Pakistan Chowk wears a new look as their efforts came to fruition.

“It started off during the time when billboards were being taken off from various points in the city and so it got paralleled alongside that campaign because the city’s outlook was being changed,” said Marvi. ... “We did our social research and got architects on board to kick off the work and also planted 17 trees,” she added.

But like many other similar projects, some felt that it would be a temporary makeover which would also end up in decay. A paan-shop owner, Suleman Bhai opined that it was very difficult to maintain such initiatives: “It is the State’s job to look after such monuments because we can’t expect common people who are barely able to make ends meet, to make sure that it doesn’t end up in shambles. The most they can do is to not destroy anything placed in the area.”