Shams Pir | |
Subdivision Type2: | City |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Pakistan |
Subdivision Type: | Town |
Settlement Type: | Village |
Subdivision Type1: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Karachi |
Subdivision Type3: | Country |
Subdivision Name3: | Pakistan |
Subdivision Name1: | Karachi West |
Timezone: | PST |
Population Total: | approximately 5,000 |
Utc Offset: | +5 |
Postal Code: | 75300 |
Shams Pir (Urdu: {{Nastaliq|شمس پیر) is an island village near Karachi, Pakistan, along the western end of Karachi Harbour, close to Sandspit Beach and Kakapir. It is administered as part of the Karachi West district. Approximately 5,000 people now live on the island.[1] The village is bordered by thick Mangrove forests which grow in the harbour.[2]
Shams Pir is named for a Mazar (shrine) of a saint named Hazrat Sham Pir which located on the island. Shams Pir is an old village which, like Bhit Shah Island and Baba Island, predates the formal establishment of Karachi.[3] Residents from Baba and Bhit islands helped settle Shams Pir.[4] During the British era, some residents of Mithadar and Kharadar were settled in Shams Pir during construction of the Port of Karachi.[5] Some of those residents moved further west and established the fishing village of Kakapir.[6]