Pakistan’s Punjab government has decided in principle to restore the original names of roads, streets, and historic colleges in Lahore, the country’s second-largest city and the cultural capital of the Punjab province.
The decision was taken at a meeting on the Lahore Heritage Areas Revival project, jointly presided over by PML-N President Nawaz Sharif and his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, Dawn reported in March 2026.
The plan is part of a wider effort to restore Lahore’s historic character while integrating modern urban planning for tourism, accessibility, and cultural preservation.
Several prominent colleges in Lahore had been upgraded to universities over the past two decades, transitioning from degree-awarding colleges to degree-granting universities. These include Government College Lahore, Lahore College for Women, Forman Christian College, King Edward Medical College, Kinnaird College for Women, and the University of Home Economics Lahore. Under the new plan, the term “university” will be removed and these institutions will revert to their historic names, a government official said after the meeting.
Several historic streets and roads in Lahore have also been renamed over the years. According to the Dawn report, the renamings include Queen’s Road to Fatima Jinnah Road, Jail Road to Allama Iqbal Road, Davies Road to Sir Aga Khan Road, Lawrence Road to Bagh-i-Jinnah Road, Empress Road to Shahrah-i-Abdul Hameed bin Badees, Krishan Nagar to Islampura, Santnagar to Sunnat Nagar, Dharampura to Mustafabad, Brandreth Road to Nistar Road, Tempbell Street to Hameed Nizami, Laxmi Chowk to Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Chowk, Jain Mandir Road to Babri Masjid Chowk, Ram Gali to Rehman Gali, Kumharpura to Ghaziabad, and Outfall Road to Jeelani Road.
The meeting also reviewed a comprehensive set of restoration projects across the city. A Convent Garden will be developed behind Tollinton Market, along with an organic café, semi-covered areas, shops, and a two-storey underground parking facility. A new museum block was approved, featuring galleries on ancient weapons, coins, Chinese, and Sikh heritage with interactive digital displays.
Lahore Heritage Revival Plan
The route from Shahalam Gate to Rang Mahal Chowk will be converted into a pedestrian walkway. Eight historic routes within the Walled City will be restored, including areas around Bhati, Mochi, Akbari, Yaki, Masti, and Delhi Gates. A Tourist Information Office will be set up at Akbari Gate. Restoration projects were also approved for Mochi, Yaki, and Masti Gates.
The walls of the Lahore Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will be restored to their original condition in phases. Encroachments at Shah Alami Chowk will be cleared to restore Baoli Bagh. The historic structure near Neela Gumbad will be rehabilitated in line with heritage design, with an underground parking facility and themed café planned at the site. The Data Darbar shrine, one of the most visited religious sites in South Asia, will be expanded with 18 kanal of additional land, with directions to compensate affected residents at market rates.
The meeting did not finalize a plan to revive the historic cricket ground and traditional wrestling arena at Minto Park, also known as Greater Iqbal Park. The PML-N government had faced criticism in the past for demolishing three cricket grounds and the historical akhara during the development of Greater Iqbal Park under former Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The cricket grounds had hosted several Pakistani test cricketers, including Fazal Mehmood, Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Saleem Altaf, Mudassar Nazar, Aamir Sohail, Saleem Malik, and Inzamam-ul-Haq. Before the 1947 Partition, Indian cricketer Lala Amarnath also trained at Minto Park, and returned to the ground during a 1978 tour to meet his former club. The akhara was once associated with legendary South Asian wrestlers including Gama Pehalwan and Imam Bakhsh.
The Lahore Heritage Areas Revival project is being positioned as one of the most extensive cultural restoration efforts in the city in recent years.
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