Moti Bazaar ─ The crowning jewel of Pindi’s marketplaces
Moti Bazaar is at least 120 years old. It sits in the heart of Rawalpindi city, and is visited by shoppers from across the Potohar region, Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “From newborns’ clothing to anything you would need for a wedding, you can get everything at Moti Bazaar – that’s what it’s famous for,” explains a trader from the market, who is also the spokesperson for the supreme council of Rawalpindi traders.
The market was named after a local resident, Moti Lal, who opened the gates of his haveli to orphans and women who escaped the satti ritual during the 1880s. Moti Lal’s haveli still stands in the middle of the market, but is now used as a government school for boys. The building originally served as a Kanya Ashram, and gradually, women at the ashram began selling homemade clothes and handicrafts.