Pakistan · Sindh · Karachi
Malir Cantonment, Karachi — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Malir Cantonment is a cantonment town of Karachi in Sindh, home of Malir Garrison, the largest military establishment in the city.
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Where to stay in Malir Cantonment
Where the beds are, and what that means for the visit.
Stay in Malir Cantonment if your visit is to the garrison, the Combined Military Hospital, or one of its colleges. The Cantonment Board Malir, a local body under the Station Headquarters, runs it, and the Station Commander serves as the board's president. Most people living here are serving or retired armed services personnel.
Civilian businesspeople and officials live here too. Everyday shopping centres on the Cantt Bazaar area and the Askari Star Mall.
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About Malir Cantonment
What are the main landmarks in Malir Cantonment?
Malir Garrison holds formations that report to V Corps and Army Air Defence Command, among them the School of Army Air Defence. PAF Base Malir is here too. The Combined Military Hospital, CMH Malir, houses the Karachi Institute of Medical Sciences.
The ISSB Centre Malir sits in the cantonment, with the Defence Officers Club and, for shopping, the Askari Star Mall.
What is the history of Malir Cantonment?
The cantonment began as a prisoner-of-war camp, declared on 11 October 1941 under the pressures of the Second World War. The Pakistan Army took it over in 1947. On 21 February 1948 Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah made his first visit to a Pakistani military unit here, the 5 Heavy Anti-Aircraft regiment.
Malir became the main cantonment of the southern areas of Sindh.
Where is Malir Cantonment?
Malir Cantonment is a cantonment town within Karachi, outside the jurisdiction of the City District Government Karachi. Its army cantonment covers 12 square kilometres. Civil housing includes the Cantonment Bazaar area, DOHS 1 and 2, Askari-5, and the Falcon Complex, while Tipu Sultan Co-operative Housing Society, Gulshan-e-Roomi, and Saadi Town lie within the cantonment limits.
Common questions
What is the best area to stay in Malir Cantonment?
Malir Cantonment: Visitors to the garrison, the military hospital, or the cantonment's colleges.
More areas in Karachi
Updated October 2026