KARACHI, Pakistan
Pakistan’s largest metropolis, Karachi, is often portrayed in headlines as chaotic and overwhelmed by modern sprawl.
But scattered among the skyscrapers, traffic-choked roads, and dense informal settlements stand reminders of a different city – a port once celebrated for its order, elegance, and architecture.
Among the most striking relics are Karachi’s historic clock towers – orange and rose-pink structures from the late 19th and early 20th centuries – that once guided the city’s rhythms.
Today, many are crumbling, forgotten, or overtaken by encroachments, leaving historians and conservationists worried that a rare chapter of the city’s past may soon disappear.
In the heart of downtown Saddar, squeezed between Chinese dental clinics and corner grocery shops, stands the 19th-century clock tower of the Eduljee Dinshaw Charitable Dispensary – now a Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) facility.
The Victorian-era structure, built in 1882, is still in use as a dispensary, but its once-white wooden windows are now blackened by exhaust. The clock mounted above its entrance has no hands – frozen for decades. On a recent morning, pigeons perched wearily on its weathered stonework as health workers inside carried out free dengue tests.
At the back, emergency staircases crumble, paint long stripped away. Rusting spiral steps toward the tower’s top recall a time when caretakers wound the clock every day.
A few kilometers away, the Lea Market clock tower – once a favorite public gathering place – sits in even worse condition.
A makeshift vegetable market sprawls through the building, while dozens of auto rickshaws treat the entrance as a permanent and illegal terminal.
Wooden shutters are broken or gone entirely, while the rusted clock hands have sat stuck at 11:45 – morning or night, no one remembers.
“This was a favorite gathering place for everyone in the area, both young and old, until the 1980s,” said Mukhtar Baloch, a 70-year-old retired teacher.
“I still remember the days when this place was a hub for political and social discussions and public meetings. But over time, it’s lost its glory, just like many of our other heritage sites.”
‘Forgotten city’s heartbeat’
Karachi-based heritage researcher Shaheen Nauman said that around 11 clock towers were documented across the city until 2019, most built between 1882 and 1931.
Recent surveys uncovered four more in the southern districts, bringing the known total to 15, including Merewether Tower (1884), Holy Trinity Cathedral (1885), Empress Market (1889), Poonabai Mamaiya (1889), Sydenham Passenger Pavilion (1913), Lakshmi Building (1924) and Lea Market (1927).
Of these, only three still function, Nauman said, and the rest are waiting for official attention.
“These towers were built between the late 19th century and early 20th century, when watches were a luxury that very few could afford,” she explained.
That made clock towers essential civic tools: “They were placed in busy streets and public spaces, ensuring that the sound of their chimes could be heard far and wide.”
Urgent preservation needed
There are glimmers of hope. At Empress Market – a centerpiece of colonial-era Karachi – the clock tower has come back to life thanks to the passion of local artist and technician Bilal Asif.
Once buried beneath hundreds of illegal vendor kiosks, the market regained its historic facade after a sweeping anti-encroachment drive in 2018. But its iconic clock remained broken until Asif stepped in.
“It was a huge challenge to bring back to life a clock that had stopped decades ago,” he told Anadolu.
“But I accepted the challenge and made it tick again. It took weeks of hard work, but I’m glad we managed to successfully restore it.”
Today, this is the only hybrid-powered tower clock in Karachi. From the others that still function, the one at the KMC head office requires weekly winding, whereas the Merewether Tower clocks are solar powered.
Despite occasional restoration efforts, experts fear the broader picture is bleak.
Architect and heritage advocate Marvi Mazhar called for structured intervention.
“These clocks must be declared heritage property. There should be monthly checks and the notes must be logged, so that there can be accountability and inquiries, if needed,” she said.
Nauman agreed that if one tower can be revived, others can too.
“These forgotten clock towers were once the heartbeat of the city. They symbolize time itself, and its deep significance in human life,” she said.
“When the clock at Merewether Tower or the KMC building chimes, its sound takes us back a hundred years – to a time when it was the only guide for setting the rhythm of daily life.”
