The Bristol Hotel, pictured here, was one of the best-known hotels in Karachi. It was built in 1904 for the Raj and was known for its parties and good food. In 1941 it was bought by Dinshaw B Avari, a Parsi, but after partition it was requisitioned, as no business was allowed to be run by an Indian. His son, Byram D Avari, is now chairman of the Avari Group, whose top-class hotels include Avari Towers, one of Karachi’s tallest buildings and the only five star hotel in Pakistan. He is also Social Head of the city’s Parsi community, who practise the Zoroastrian faith. In an article on minorities in today’s Express Tribune, he recalls his father's treatment:
“Today in Pakistan, we as a minority don’t experience any such discrimination.The honour, the respect and the equality we as a Parsi minority enjoy with the majority community has today made us shine out because Pakistan acknowledges the Parsi contribution."
The Bristol was bought in 1960 by Rizvi Sahab, who ran it until 1994, when it closed.
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