On February 19, 2023, the team Embracing Karachi went on it’s first cycling tour to the outskirts of Karachi. We chose Malir because of its historic and ecological importance. Malir has been a suburb and was once the food basket of Karachi growing vegetables and fruits that met the demands of the city and other parts of Sindh province.
Our tour started at the Pasha Farms where our host Tofiq Pasha welcomed us at 7am on a Sunday morning. Cycling in Karachi always means that you start early because as the day progresses, both the temperature and traffic on the road rises.
Breathtaking View of Malir
Setting off from the Karachi city, we hardly realized that we would be riding in thick fog. Our visibility on our way to the Link Road (almost 18 kms from Pasha Farms) was about 20m. Nonetheless our fellow riders loved the turn that the weather took in Malir and provided us a unique opportunity to ride in the fog.
Happy riders are all set to start cycling.
A mix of rural and urban setting on the way gave us a sense of calm as well as adventure.
It was quiet when we left at 7:30am.
We stopped at the Malir River bridge.
15-20m visibility in that thick heavy fog.
Leaving the Pasha Farms in a group.
Some wanted to be ahead of the others.
Papaya farms in the background.
Please visit our Media Gallery for more photographs
Community Insights – Interview of Mr Tofiq Pasha
Mr Tofiq Pasha has been living at the family owned Pasha Farms for the last 40 years. He is a renowned horticulturalist, ecologist and environmentalist. One sees him on TV promoting kitchen gardens and advocating sustainable lifestyle. We chose Pasha Farms as our starting point and got a chance to talk to him about Malir’s past, present and future.
Here is Pasha talking about the economy of the area.
Malir is going through a demographic change due to changing economy.
Malir was a food basket of Karachi, let’s find out what all grew here.
How can we preserve what’s remaining of this glorious place?
Pasha talking about his life in Malir.
Let’s hear a bit of history of the place.
Rider Testimonials
The videos are a testimony to the beautiful and lush Malir suburb ride. Naeema and Sophia invited seven more cyclists to join them on exploring the unexplored route.
Six Karachi locals and three visitors cycled through 37kms of uncharted cycling route. The thick mist made the ride even more adventurous. It’s amazing how one tosses caution to the wind when in the saddle- one forgets about the usual Karachi security concerns and pollution.
Naeema has been cycling with CMK for over a decade
Dinaz loves to cycle 50km every weekend
Ahmed is an ardent cyclist
Naumeena loves networking along cycling
Sophia enjoys early morning group rides with friends.
Mustan is the man behind a strong cycling community in Karachi.
Mazhar enjoys both solo and group rides. He is an active participant in Duathalons
Afia cycles when she is visiting her family in Karachi from Toronto.
Sajida lives in London and loves to cycle in Karachi.