"Famous Tombs in Pakistan: Where the National Heroes Lie"

The most famous tombs in Pakistan of its national heroes are Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi, where Muhammad Ali Jinnah lies with Liaquat Ali Khan and Fatima Jinnah; Allama Iqbal's tomb beside the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore; the Bhutto family mausoleum at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near Larkana; and Abdul Sattar Edhi's grave at Edhi Village outside Karachi. Iqbal's tomb is the easiest to visit. Mazar-e-Quaid has been closed to ordinary visitors for about three years, and a reopening announced in 2026 had no date by early October.

This list covers who is buried where, what each place is like, and what to check before you go. It also covers a few heroes whose graves are in smaller places, and three who are buried outside Pakistan.

Who is buried at Mazar-e-Quaid?

Mazar-e-Quaid is the white marble mausoleum of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who died on 11 September 1948. It stands on a raised platform in a large park in central Karachi. The Bombay architect Yahya Merchant, who had known Jinnah, designed it; the foundation stone was laid on 31 July 1960 and the building was inaugurated on 18 January 1971. Jinnah's actual grave lies in a crypt below the main chamber.

The complex is also the resting place of several people close to him:

• Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan's first prime minister, assassinated in Rawalpindi in 1951
• Fatima Jinnah, the Quaid's sister, who died in 1967
• Begum Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Liaquat's wife
• Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, the Muslim League leader from Peshawar
• Nurul Amin, a former prime minister

Wikipedia lists the national days on which official ceremonies are held there: 23 March, 14 August, 11 September and 25 December.

Can you visit it now? Not in the normal way. In 2026 the Senate subcommittee on national heritage said the mausoleum had been closed to the general public for about three years on security grounds. It then announced that the mausoleum would reopen under a new security plan, but no date or visiting hours had been given by early October 2026. Our guide to Mazar-e-Quaid timings has the latest position. The history of the mausoleum covers how it was built, and Fatima Jinnah's grave has its own guide.

Where is Allama Iqbal buried?

Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the poet and philosopher whose ideas shaped the demand for Pakistan, is buried in Hazuri Bagh in Lahore, between the Badshahi Mosque and the Lahore Fort. He died in Lahore on 21 April 1938, and the tomb took about thirteen years to complete.

It was designed in Mughal style by Nawab Zain Yar Jang, chief architect of Hyderabad Deccan, in red sandstone from Jaipur and marble from Makrana. The building was paid for by Iqbal's friends and admirers rather than the government, and work slowed after 1947 when the red stone became hard to bring across the new border. Six couplets from his Persian collection Zabur-e-Ajam are carved inside. The tomb is a protected monument of the Punjab Archaeology Department.

This is the easiest of the major tombs to visit. It sits in the middle of the Walled City sights, so most people combine it with the Badshahi Mosque, the Fort and the food street. Our guide to Allama Iqbal's tomb covers the guard of honour, the rules inside and the best time to go.

Where is Liaquat Ali Khan buried, and what is Liaquat Bagh?

Liaquat Ali Khan is buried at Mazar-e-Quaid, but the place most Pakistanis connect with him is in Rawalpindi. He was shot dead on 16 October 1951 while addressing a public meeting at Company Bagh, the old East India Company garden on Murree Road. The park was renamed Liaquat Bagh after him.

The same park became part of a second national tragedy. On 27 December 2007 Benazir Bhutto was killed in a gun and suicide bomb attack as she left an election rally there. Liaquat Bagh is a public park rather than a tomb, but people do go to see it for that history. Our guide to Liaquat Bagh covers what is there now.

Garhi Khuda Bakhsh: the Bhutto mausoleum

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party and prime minister in the 1970s, was executed in Rawalpindi on 4 April 1979 and buried in his family's ancestral graveyard at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh, a village near Naudero in Larkana district. Benazir Bhutto, twice prime minister, was buried beside him in December 2007. Her mother Nusrat and her brothers Shahnawaz and Murtaza are also buried there.

The large white marble mausoleum over the graves was started in 1993 and finished in a second phase from 2003. It has five domes and four iwans, with glazed tiles and calligraphy inside. It is both a family shrine and a political one, and on the death anniversaries of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (4 April) and Benazir Bhutto (27 December) the village fills with party supporters.

Most visitors come from Larkana, often on the same trip as Mohenjo-daro. Our Garhi Khuda Bakhsh guide covers the drive, the rules and the hours.

Where is Abdul Sattar Edhi buried?

Abdul Sattar Edhi, who built the Edhi Foundation's ambulance, orphanage and welfare network from a single dispensary in Karachi, died on 8 July 2016. He was given a state funeral at the National Stadium in Karachi, with a guard of honour and a 19-gun salute. Wikipedia notes he was the only Pakistani without a state office to receive one.

He was buried at Edhi Village, the foundation's welfare complex on the Super Highway on the edge of Karachi. Reports at the time said he was laid in a grave he had marked out for himself about 25 years earlier, in the clothes he was wearing when he died, as his will asked.

The grave is simple, which suits the man. Edhi Village is a working welfare centre, not a monument, so if you want to visit, contact the Edhi Foundation first, keep the visit short and don't photograph residents.

Other national heroes and where they lie

Several more graves are worth knowing about, especially if you are already nearby.

Hafeez Jalandhari, Lahore

The poet who wrote the words of the national anthem died on 21 December 1982. He was first buried in Model Town, and his remains were later moved to a tomb the government built near Minar-e-Pakistan, where the Lahore Resolution was passed in 1940. You can see it on the same visit as the Minar. Our Minar-e-Pakistan guide covers the park.

Major Raja Aziz Bhatti, Gujrat district

Aziz Bhatti was killed on 12 September 1965 while directing artillery fire at Burki, east of Lahore, and was awarded the Nishan-e-Haider. He is buried in the courtyard of his ancestral home in Ladian village, Gujrat district. It is a family and village site rather than a visitor attraction, so go respectfully and ask locally before entering.

Rashid Minhas, Karachi

Pilot Officer Rashid Minhas died on 20 August 1971, aged 20, when his T-33 trainer crashed near Sujawal after his instructor tried to fly it to India. He is the youngest Nishan-e-Haider recipient and the only one from the Air Force. He is buried in Karachi, but we could not confirm whether his grave is open to the public, so check before planning a visit.

Khushal Khan Khattak, Akora Khattak

The 17th-century Pashto poet and warrior, who fought the Mughals, died in 1689 and is buried at Chashmai near Akora Khattak in Nowshera district. He asked to be buried where the dust raised by Mughal horses would not reach his grave. Our guide to his tomb covers the site. Nowshera district is on the UK government's list of areas to avoid except for essential travel, so check current advice first.

Islamabad

General Zia-ul-Haq, who died in a plane crash on 17 August 1988, is buried beside the Faisal Mosque. Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, who died on 10 October 2021, had his funeral prayers at the Faisal Mosque and was buried in the H-8 graveyard.

Which heroes are buried outside Pakistan?

Some figures from the Pakistan Movement were never buried in Pakistan at all, which surprises many people:

• Choudhry Rahmat Ali, who coined the name "Pakistan", died in Cambridge in February 1951 and is buried in Cambridge City Cemetery, England.
• Sir Syed Ahmad Khan is buried at Aligarh, in India, at the university he founded.
• Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar is buried in Jerusalem.

Visiting etiquette at national tombs

These are graves first and monuments second, and the guards treat them that way.

• Dress modestly. Men in trousers, not shorts. Women should carry a dupatta or scarf, which is expected at Iqbal's tomb and at Garhi Khuda Bakhsh.
• Keep your voice down inside the chambers, and don't sit or lean on the cenotaphs.
• Ask before photographing. Inside Mazar-e-Quaid and at the guard posts there have been camera rules. Never photograph soldiers on duty without asking.
• Expect security checks. Bags are searched at the big sites, and some don't allow large bags at all.
• Avoid the anniversaries unless you want the crowd. National days and death anniversaries bring ceremonies, VIP movement and closed roads.

Our travel guide has wider advice on getting around Pakistan's cities.

Which tombs are worth planning a trip around?

Iqbal's tomb is the one almost everyone can fit in. It is central, open, free to walk up to and next to Lahore's other big sights. If you are in Lahore, go.

Mazar-e-Quaid is the one most people want to see, and the one you can't count on for now. Until a reopening date is announced, plan your Karachi day around other places and treat the Mazar as a bonus if the gates are open.

Garhi Khuda Bakhsh makes sense if you are already going to Mohenjo-daro or Larkana, or if the Bhutto family story matters to you. It is a long way to go for the mausoleum alone, and you need to check the security position first.

Edhi's grave, Aziz Bhatti's grave and Khushal Khan Khattak's tomb are for people with a personal reason to go. They are quiet, simple places, and that is their value. For more ideas on heritage and culture trips, see our experiences page.

Frequently asked questions