Two well-known marble monuments jutting out at nearby roundabouts in Karachi’s Clifton area are Dou Talwar and Teen Talwar, also known as ‘Pillars of Strength’. People daily pass by these considering them just another landmark sites without realizing their background history.

These monuments were erected during the era of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as the Pakistan Peoples Party’s electoral symbol was talwar (sword) in 1973.

The initial idea was to drape the three swords with the PPP’s slogans: Islam, Democracy and Socialism. Later, Zulfiqar Bhutto changed his mind and asked to inscribe national motto of founder of Pakistan Muhammed Ali Jinnah on the Three Swords: Unity, Faith and Discipline. This is the reason that this monument is still intact otherwise the chaos it has witnessed around itself would not have let it stay longer.

Teen Talwar was designed and constructed by Pakistani Zoroastrian architect Minu Mistri.

While, Dou Talwar was built as a memorial of the struggles of Hyderabad students in 1967. The design by MA Farooqui was approved by the then president Zulfiqar Bhutto out of 25 proposed designs.

In 1967, students of Sindh University launched a movement against the One Unit system of the then president General Mohammad Ayub Khan.

On March 4, 1967, the university students marched against replacement of the then Sindh University vice-chancellor Hassan Ali Abdul Rehman with the then Hyderabad commissioner Masroor Ahsan. Police baton-charged the students while the procession was on the Jamshoro-Hyderabad road.

Construction of these important public sites was part of the beautification project of the megalopolis. In 1970s, Clifton Road was considered to be the most beautiful artery of the city surrounded by greenery, palm trees, widespread bungalows and clean area.

The famous landmarks now have busy markets and commercial activities around it. It has become a favourite place of ladies for shopping. You can buy clothes and other stuff for reasonable price here.