The outré life and tragic death of Iqbal Tajir
[This post is a placeholder. I will add more to the story later.]
Mohammad Iqbal aka Iqbal Tajir lived a short but colorful life. Originally from Bahawalpur, how did Iqbal Tajir end up being in London is a mystery—I am sure there are people who know that part of the story. But Iqbal Tajir’s real story starts from London where he lived an ostensibly good life owning a restaurant and hosting South Asian celebrities at his flat. What made him move from London to Karachi is another mystery. In Karachi he ran Shalimar Restaurant featuring exotic food and live music. To amuse his special guests Iqbal Tajir would take the stage and start singing. Iqbal Tajir had a charming personality and was exceptionally good at making friends, and especially in befriending famous people. Iqbal Tajir was very generous—continuously pleasing his friends with lavish gifts and picking up their tabs when they ate at his restaurant. Nobody knew how financially bankrupt he was: a famous man with outwardly affluent ways, but in reality, living an impoverished life.
Iqbal Tajir’s luck ran out when Pakistan Navy, on whose land the Shalimar Restaurant was illegally running, kicked him out. Then there is a gap of a year or so during which Iqbal Tajir is trying to restart his business at a new place. And then one day he suddenly went quiet. A few days went by and his friends--being a bachelor he had no family members besides a brother--got worried about Iqbal Tajir’s wellbeing. Iqbal Tajir’s mutilated body was found in the underground water storage tank at his house. [June 18, 1991]
Tags: Iqbal Tajir, owner of Shalimar Restaurant, Airport Road, Karachi; businessman, columnist
Shalimar Restaurant featuring quail, teetar, rabbit, deer meat.
Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, CIA Inspector
restaurateur killed by his servants
Businessman killed by domestic help for nonpayment of wages
محمد اقبال عرف اقبال تاجر
لندن
شالیمار ریستوراں کراچی
تیتر، بٹیر، خرگوش، اور ہرن کا گوشت
اقبال تاجر کا سفاک قتل
تنخواہ نہ دینے پہ ملازمین نے کلہاڑی کے وار سے اقبال تاجر کو ہلاک کرنے کے بعد اس کی لاش پانی کے ٹینک میں ڈال دی۔
