Sadiq Garh Palace () is a 19th‑century princely complex in Dera Nawab Sahib, southern Punjab, Pakistan. It served as the winter seat of the Abbasi rulers of the former Bahawalpur State. Covering roughly 125 acres behind ramparts 50 feet high, it was once among the largest private estates in South Asia.

History

Sadiq Garh Palace was commissioned by Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV in 1882 and was finished in 1895 after a decade of construction supervised by Italian engineers. Contemporary reports state that some 15 000 labourers worked for ten years and Rs 1.5 million were spent to complete the palace and its outbuildings. During the princely era, the estate expanded to include three subsidiary ''mahals'', Mubarak, Rahat and Sadiq, linked by

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s as well as a private powerhouse,

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, and

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. The ''darbar'' hall displayed retired ''Ghilaf‑e‑Kaaba'' covers produced in Bahawalpur and hosted audiences for British viceroys and other dignitaries. In the mid‑1970s, the government of

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...

sealed the property amid a dispute with one branch of the Abbasi family, and decades of litigation concluded only in 2005 when the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

divided the estate among twenty‑three heirs.

Architecture

Stamp of Bahawalpur - 1948 - Colnect 299933 - Sadiq Garh Palace

The main block presents a symmetrical white

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

surmounted by a central ribbed dome flanked by four smaller

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

s. Inside are about 120 large rooms, each pair decorated to evoke the decorative arts of a different country for the Nawab's foreign guests. Teak staircases, two early

hydraulic elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems such ...

s and vaulted basements link the three floors to underground passages reputed to reach other royal compounds.

Condition and conservation

Long periods of governmental sequestration allowed extensive theft of antiques, furniture and a fleet of Rolls‑Royce automobiles that once made the palace famous. In 2024, sewage from a collapsed municipal drain submerged the main gate, further accelerating structural damage.

References

{{Tourist attractions in Bahawalpur Palaces in Pakistan Buildings and structures in Bahawalpur Royal residences in Pakistan Houses completed in 1895 Tourist attractions in Bahawalpur