Karachi traffic police plan to turn Saddar Market into a car-free pedestrian street, with fresh restrictions and enforcement steps to ease Ramazan traffic chaos.
Saddar Market to Turn Into a Pedestrian-Only Street
Karachi traffic police have decided to convert the busy Saddar Market area into a fully car-free pedestrian zone, in a move aimed at easing chronic congestion in the city’s commercial heart. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the DIG Traffic, where officials reviewed traffic and parking problems expected to intensify during Ramazan.
Once the plan is implemented, cars and other private vehicles will be barred from entering the designated Saddar zone during notified hours. The idea is to create a safer, more walkable environment for shoppers and pedestrians, while reducing the gridlock that has become a daily feature of the area.
Authorities believe turning Saddar into a pedestrian street will not only cut traffic jams but also make it easier for emergency and municipal services to move through nearby roads without getting stuck in long queues of vehicles.
New Restrictions on Loading, Unloading and Parking
To further manage traffic pressure, the meeting decided that loading and unloading vehicles will not be allowed to enter the Saddar zone between 1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. These are peak shopping and office hours, when commercial activity and private traffic are already at their highest levels.
Traffic police officials also agreed to activate and improve existing parking facilities in and around markets so that they are used more efficiently. Illegal parking, which often blocks lanes and intersections, will not be tolerated under the new plan.
The push to reorganise parking and restrict goods vehicles at busy times is meant to stop shoppers, delivery trucks and public transport from all competing for the same limited road space at once, a pattern that frequently paralyses traffic in the city centre.
Crackdown on Begging, Encroachments and Traffic Violations
During the meeting, officials also approved a series of enforcement measures beyond traditional traffic fines. Legal action will be taken against professional beggars operating at traffic signals, who are seen as a major distraction for drivers and a contributor to intersection blockages.
Lifter officers will be deployed with body-worn cameras to remove illegally parked vehicles and to document interactions on the road. The use of cameras is intended to increase transparency and reduce disputes between drivers and enforcement teams.
Authorities further decided that encroachments on roads and footpaths will be cleared, and additional personnel will be deployed to manage traffic flow at pressure points. Removing stalls and structures from road margins is expected to free up space for both pedestrians and vehicles.
Citywide Traffic Gridlock Fuels Public Frustration
Traffic congestion in Karachi has been worsening for years, and many areas now resemble densely populated town centres with little room for vehicles to move. Residents frequently complain about spending long periods stuck in jams, even for what should be short commutes.
Recent days have seen long lines of vehicles around Saddar, M.A. Jinnah Road and the Old City area. Heavy traffic pressure has also been reported at Fawara Chowk, Zeb-un-Nisa Street and around Metropole, where multiple routes converge.
Congestion has not been limited to the city centre. Slow-moving traffic and bottlenecks were observed on I.I. Chundrigar Road, Bolton Market, Tower and Mauripur Road, as well as along key stretches of Shahrah-e-Faisal. Severe jams were also reported in Defence and on the Qayyumabad KPT Bridge.
What Commuters Should Expect in the Coming Weeks
Further afield, long queues have been seen around FTC, Nursery and Baloch Colony, while traffic has remained slow near National Stadium Karachi, Hassan Square and Isa Nagri. Banaras Chowk, Habib Bank Chowrangi, Liaquatabad, Teen Hatti and Jahangir Road have all experienced heavy pressure, with even short distances taking a long time to cover.
Traffic police hope that turning Saddar into a car-free zone, combined with stricter parking enforcement and targeted crackdowns on encroachments and signal violations, will gradually ease some of this pressure—especially during Ramazan, when shopping and travel activity spike around Sehr and Iftar.
For commuters and shoppers, the immediate impact will likely be changes in routes and parking routines. Authorities are urging residents to plan their journeys in advance, use designated parking areas and follow new traffic instructions so that the benefits of the latest measures can be felt across Karachi’s busiest corridors.
