It is named after
Allama Muhammad Iqbal, the
national poet of Pakistan. Development was started in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It was developed by Hassan Zaman Pvt Limited. It was previously famed for its name in Urdu, 'Sola Sau Acre سولہ سو ایکڑ' (meaning 1600 acres, a reference to the area it covers). Its boundaries are marked by
Multan Road to the west and north, and by Wahdat Road to the south. Iqbal Town has been home to famous actors and actresses of
Pakistani film industry,
Lollywood. Since the
Shahnoor Studios and Bari
studios are situated very close to the area, many film actors and actresses used to live here in the past. However, most of them have now moved to the posh suburban areas of the city. Iqbal town's main boulevard is one of the busiest roads of Lahore. It also has a parking plaza at Moon Market. College block, Pak block, Asif Block, Kashmir block, Huma block and Jahanzeb block are situated on the main boulevard which starts from Multan Road (the intersection famously known as 'Scheme Moar'. Moar means corner in the Urdu language) and leads towards Wahdat Road and onwards to the
Punjab University's New Campus. Neighboring localities include Wahdat Colony,
Ichhra,
Samanabad,
Garden Town,
Mustafa Town,
Sabzazar and Said Pur. Major commercial markets are Karim Block Market (adjacent to Umer Block and Karim Block) - famous for the garments shops located there) and
Moon Market (Dubai Chowk). The oldest open university in Pakistan
Allama Iqbal Open University's Lahore campus is located in Raza Block of Allama Iqbal Town. It also houses the Karim Block Market nearby. Allama Iqbal Town consists of a total of 22 residential divisions called 'blocks' listed alphabetically:
Asif, Badr, Chenab, College, Gulshan, Huma,Hunza Jahanzeb, Khyber, Kamran, Karim, Kashmir, Mehran, Muslim, Nargis, Neelam, Nishtar, Nizam, Pak, Rachna, Raza, Ravi, Sikander, Sutlej, Umar and
Zeenat. == Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park ==