Raiwind Palace () is a

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

located in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, Pakistan. It is spread over 1700 acres and is the main residence of the Sharif family.

History

The construction of Raiwind Palace was started in 1997 and was completed within a span of 17 months. It was built in mediterranean-style with at least twenty-two rooms. During the premiership of Nawaz Sharif, Raiwind Palace was declared as the Prime Minister's camp office. In October 1999,

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

was about to move to this newly built palace but was removed from power in a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

. In 2014, it was reported that the palace was owned by Shamim Sharif, the mother of Nawaz and

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

. In 2019, Ijaz Ahmed Shah, former

Interior Minister of Pakistan Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

, claimed that 280 million rupees were withdrawn from the national exchequer and spent by the Sharif family to build Raiwind Palace.

Architecture

The Raiwind Palace compound encompasses four marble-faced

villa A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house that provided an escape from urban life. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the f ...

s surrounded by expansive lawns and hundreds of acres of wheat fields. During the harvest season,

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including har ...

s can be observed collecting ripe

corn Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout Poaceae, grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples of Mexico, indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago ...

from these fields. The palace also includes a private

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility where animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zoology, ...

, which houses

deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

s, a herd of

antelope The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...

s, and a large

turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Taxidermied leopards are displayed outside the main entrance of the palace. The interior of the palace features marble flooring in various colors, including pink, green, and blue. The ceilings are decorated with hand-painted rose friezes, while the floors are made of inlaid oak. The walls are covered with panels of silk fabrics, and the rococo chairs are heavily gilded. The central hall includes an atrium with a skylight, where two taxidermied lions are displayed on platforms. Artificial floral arrangements are attached to the edges of the marble staircase, which leads to the second floor containing private rooms. Access to the private quarters is restricted.

References

{{Nawaz Sharif 1997 establishments in Pakistan Palaces in Pakistan Sharif family