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Faisal Cantonment

The Faisal Cantonment, formerly Drigh Road Cantonment, is a cantonment town of the city of Karachi, in Sindh, Pakistan. It serves as a military base and residential establishment. It was established by the British Indian Army in 19th century British India, and taken over by the Pakistan Army in 1947. The cantonment maintains its own infrastructure of water supply, electricity and is outside the jurisdiction of City District Government of Karachi. Faisal Cantonment is named after the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. There are several ethnic groups including Muhajirs, Punjabis, Sindhis, Kashmiris, Seraikis, Pakhtuns, Balochis, Memons, Bohras Ismailis, etc. Over 99% of the population is Muslim.

Established in 1925 as a strategically important British Royal Airforce Base vide Government of Bombay Revenue Department Notification No.4840/24 dated 04-11-1925, the Faisal Cantonment was then known as "Drigh Road Cantonment". The municipal limits of Faisal Cantonment were altered in 1988 vide SRO 419(1)/88 dated 07-06-1988 with excision of the area of Azimabad No.1, Massan Ghat, Haidri Goth, Rehmanabad Housing Project, Tandoor Colony, Pak Sadat Colony, Millat Colony and New Iqbalabad; and again altered in 1995 vide Government of Pakistan Ministry of Defence SRO No.788(1)/95 dated 01-08-1995 with extension towards Civil Aviation, KDA Officer Co-operative Housing Society, Town ship and Malir Halt areas.

King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia was instrumental in funding many projects in Pakistan, and a number were named after him after his assassination in 1975. For instance, the Shah Faisal Masjid in Islamabad, Pakistan, is among one of the largest mosques in the world. It is a popular masjid in the Islamic world, and is renowned for both its size and its architecture covering an area of 5,000 square meters with a capacity of 300,000 worshippers. The decision to build Faisal Mosque was taken in 1966 in the regime of President Ayub Khan when the late King Faisal bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia suggested it during a visit to Islamabad.

Faisal Cantonment comprises an area of 10198.05 acres having a population base of 130,074 in accordance with the fifth population census of 1998. Faisal Cantonment is a Class-I Cantonment vide SRO (1)/2002 dated 26-01-2002.

A total of 104 hoardings had fallen in the storm and torrential rain on June 23, 2007 out of which nine hoardings [billboards] fell in the city government's controlled areas and 95 in the areas controlled by other authorities, killing nine people on the spot. Well-placed sources told Dawn that a presentation given to the top authorities of the province at a meeting held after Saturday's calamity suggested that nine billboards fell in areas controlled by the Karachi Cantonment Board, killing three people; three boards fell in the Defence Housing Authority controlled areas, causing death of one person; 12 billboards installed on the Pakistan Railway land fell; three billboards fell in the area controlled by the Station Headquarters/Army; nine hoardings fell in the Civil Aviation Authority controlled area; five billboards fell in the SITE area; and one each fell in the areas controlled by the Pakistan Rangers, the Pakistan Sports Board and the Askari Park. A total of 51 billboards reportedly fell in the areas controlled by the Faisal Cantonment Board though, luckily, no one was killed or injured. Cantonment Executive Officer ( CEO) Faisal Cantonment Board, Zeenat Ahmad when contacted denied that cantonment boards were responsible for those billboard and hoardings that fell on different roads due to heavy rain and speedy winds.