Nurpur Shahan Village

Islamabad & Rawalpindi


About 4km northeast of the Diplomatic Enclave, Nurpur Shahan Village village is a shrine to Shah Abdul Latif Kazmi. Also known as Bari Shah Latif or 'Bari Imam', he was a 17th-century Sufi teacher and Islamabad's unofficial patron saint. Thursday evening can be very festive, with pilgrims and trancelike qawwali (Islamic devotional singing). Foreigners are welcome but should always dress conservatively.

In the last week of May the carnival-like urs (death-anniversary festival) of Bari Shah Latif is celebrated here. Minibus 3 heads to Nurpur Shahan from Rajah Bazaar in Rawalpindi, via Aabpara. Bus 120 leaves from Karachi Co (east of Islamabad), via Sitara Market and Aabpara.