Jinnah Park

For the park in Peshawar, seeJinnah Park, Peshawar.

Not to be confused withFatima Jinnah Park.

Jinnah Park
جناح پارک
Park’s second entrance with Unity Towers visible in the distance
Type	Public Amusement
Location	Rawalpindi,Pakistan
Coordinates	33°35′05″N73°04′25″E
Area	17 hectares (42 acres)
Opened	2006(2006)
Etymology	From the name of the founder of Pakistan,Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Administered by	Rawalpindi Development Authority(RDA)
Open	Year-round; 6 a.m. to midnight
Status	Operating
Parking	Available

Jinnah Park(Urdu:جناح پارک) is anamusementandpublic parklocated onAirport Roadin the high-securityChaklala Cantonmentsuburb ofRawalpindi,Pakistan. It is the town's primary amusement park and covers an area of approximately 17 hectares (42 acres).Initial plans for its development began as early as 1995 and it was opened in 2006.It was named after Quaid-e-AzamMuhammad Ali Jinnah,the founder and the firstGovernor-General of Pakistan.Sculptures of Jinnah and his family name are placed at the park's main entrance.

History

The site for the park was previously occupied by the maximum securityDistrict Jail Rawalpindiwhich opened in 1882.Former president and prime minister of Pakistan,Zulfikar Ali Bhuttowas notably imprisoned here before being executed on 4 April 1979.The exact spot on site, where the gallows once stood is unknown. The prison was demolished in 1988 after the completion of construction ofCentral Jail Rawalpindi,commonly known as Adyala Jail, in 1986.

The construction of the park began in 1995, whenRawalpindi Development Authority(RDA) taskedCapital Development Authority(CDA) to build the park. In 2004, the incomplete project was passed on toPakistan Army'sX Corpsand after facing delays, it finally opened in 2006. RDA spent at least 329 millionPakistani rupeeson the project.

Attractions

Jinnah Park houses Pakistan's firstmultiplexcalled "Cinepax", the first one by the company of the same name.It has aMcDonald's Restaurantwhich offers bothcounter service,with both indoor and outdoor seating available, and drive-thru service, 24 hours a day. It also houses a PlayPlace – an indoorplayground.The park has another restaurant called Diva, afrozen yogurtandgelatochain shop called "Frutti5",Second Cup,Subway,Pappasallis (anItalianchain), and other restaurants and cafes. Tuck-shops are scattered throughout the park. "Cosmo Cash and Carry" retails a wide range of products at a discount, for example, groceries, meat and poultry,frozen foods,dairy products, health and beauty products, appliances etc. The park also has:

• basketball courts
• cricket nets
• football grounds
• aten-pin bowlingclub
• dedicatedplaygrounds
• a skating area with aroller rink
• anopen-air gym
• ajoggingtrack
• Motion Rides
• various rides and games for children of all ages
• threemosquesor prayer areas
• sitting areas

The park is adorned with lawns, flowerbeds, fountains and sculptures. The park features four sky-highpillarscalled "Unity Towers", one for eachprovince of Pakistan.The height of each tower represents the size of its province relative to the others, thus the one forBalochistanis the tallest of the four and the one forKhyber Pakhtunkhwais the shortest. There are fourgazeboswhich are sculptured into enormous headgears, representative of the four provinces, while the seating arrangements underneath make use of the traditionalcharpaisandgāo-takkiyas.During certain hours, the roller rink is open only for children or inexperiencedroller skaters.

Gallery

• 
  Jinnah Park
• 
  An old tree at Jinnah Park's entrance