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{{Short description|Cafe in Lahore, Pakistan}}
{{Use Pakistani English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox restaurant
| name             = Pak Tea House
| image            =
| caption          = 
| established      = 1940
| current_owner    = Sirajuddin Ahmed
| previous_owner   = Surtej Singh Bhalla, Kaiser Singh Bhalla
| food_type        = [[Tea]] and [[cafe]]
| dress_code       = 
| street_address   = Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
| city             = [[Lahore]]
| state            = Punjab
| country          = Pakistan
| other_locations  = 
| seating_capacity = 50 to 60 people 
}}

'''Pak Tea House''' ({{Langx|ur|{{nastaliq|پاک ٹی ہاؤس}}}}) is a tea house and cafe in [[Lahore]], [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]] that is known for its association with academics, writers, poets and [[intelligentsia]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |author=Adnan Ali |date=4 October 2000 |title=Lahore tea house under threat (Pak Tea House) |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/953284.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701055508/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/953284.stm |archive-date=1 July 2022 |access-date=29 March 2025 |newspaper=BBC News website}}</ref><ref name="Dawn5">{{cite news |author=Abid Hussain |date=15 September 2012 |title=Not everyone's cup of tea (Pak Tea House) |url=http://herald.dawn.com/tag/pak-tea-house |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312062902/http://herald.dawn.com/tag/pak-tea-house |archive-date=12 March 2013 |access-date=28 March 2025 |newspaper=Herald magazine (Dawn Group of Newspapers)}}</ref><ref name="Tribune">{{Cite news |author=Ayesha Siddiqa |date=6 March 2013 |title=The end of Pak Tea House |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/516705/the-end-of-pak-tea-house/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309034919/https://tribune.com.pk/story/516705/the-end-of-pak-tea-house |archive-date=9 March 2013 |access-date=29 March 2025 |newspaper=The Express Tribune newspaper}}</ref>

Traditionally frequented by country's notably artistic, cultural and literary personalities, it was founded by a [[Sikhism in Pakistan|Sikh family]] in 1940 and quickly acquired its current name after it was leased to one of the locals in Lahore after the [[partition of India]] in 1947.<ref name=Dawn5/> It was closed in 1999 due to lack of business, but through intervention of [[Lahore High Court]] had led to the re-opening of the Tea House in 2013. Noted for being the birthplace of influential literary movement, the [[Progressive Writers' Association]], the place is described as a hub of Lahore's intellectual life for many years.<ref name=Tribune/><ref name=Dawn>{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/791223/nawaz-reopens-pak-tea-house-in-lahore|title= Nawaz reopens Pak Tea House in Lahore|newspaper= Dawn newspaper|agency=Associated Press Of Pakistan|date=8 March 2013|access-date=28 March 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105164052/https://www.dawn.com/news/791223/nawaz-reopens-pak-tea-house-in-lahore|archive-date=5 January 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Tribune2/>

== History ==
The café was set up in 1940 as the "India Tea House" by Boota Singh, a [[Sikhism in Pakistan|Sikh family]] in Lahore.<ref name=Dawn2>{{cite news |title=Pak Tea House |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1136693|access-date=29 March 2025 |newspaper=Dawn newspaper|author=Sarmad Tamjeed Akhtar|date=9 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009145014/https://www.dawn.com/news/1136693|archive-date=9 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Dawn/> In 1944, it was taken over by two Sikh brothers, Surtej Singh Bhalla and Kaiser Singh Bhalla. It remained closed during the 1947 partition riots, and in 1948, Sirajuddin Ahmed, a local food supplier, rented the place from [[Young Men's Christian|Young Men's Christian Association]]'s administration. He renamed it "Pak Tea House" in 1950 and ran it successfully from 1948 to 1978. After his death, his son Zahid Hasan managed the cafe and restaurant. This historic tea house was known as a meeting place and was frequented by the city's artists and literary personalities, especially until the 1990s.<ref name="TNI" /> It was closed in 2000 with the decline in customers. During this period, its ownership was taken over by the [[Young Men's Christian|Young Men's Christian Association]].<ref name=TNI>{{cite news|title=A Brief history of Pak Tea House|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/417328-a-brief-history|accessdate=28 March 2025|newspaper=The News International newspaper|date=9 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222085112/https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/417328-a-brief-history|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 February 2025}}</ref>

Among the luminaries known to visit Pak Tea House were:<ref name="Dawn5" /><ref name="TNI" /><ref name="Dawn" />

* [[Ahmad Faraz]]
* [[Ahmad Rahi]]
* [[Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi|Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi]]
* [[Faiz Ahmed Faiz]]
* [[Ibn-e-Insha]]
* [[Saadat Hasan Manto]]
* [[Josh Malihabadi]]
* [[Sahir Ludhianvi]]
* [[Amrita Pritam]]
* [[Iftikhar Arif]]
* [[Jawayd Anwar]]
* [[Munshi Premchand]]
* [[Majrooh Sultanpuri]]
* [[M. D. Taseer]]
* [[Krishan Chander]]
* [[Ismat Chughtai]]
* [[Muneer Niazi]]
* [[Meeraji]]
* [[Habib Jalib]]
* [[Kaifi Azmi]]
* [[Kamal Ahmed Rizvi]]
* [[Nasir Kazmi]]
* [[Agha Shorish Kashmiri|Intezar Hussain]]
* [[Rajinder Singh Bedi]]
* [[Firaq Gorakhpuri]]
* [[Amanat Ali Khan]]
* Agha Shorish Kashmiri
* Sayyid Sajjad Rizvi
* Muhammad Baqir
* Farhad Ahmad Hotiana
* Syed Obaidullah Hassan Chishti
* Shaheer Ahmed Khan

Pak Tea House became a birthplace of the influential literary movement. It was and remained popular for its best and quick service, specially during lunch hours. They even serve customer who do not even want to come inside the tea-house. Staff is trained to drag people inside the premises and feed them forcefully, the [[Progressive Writers' Association]] in Pakistan, known for [[left-wing politics]] since its foundation in 1940.<ref name=Dawn5/><ref name=TNI/> Many writers frequented it, and it was also a favorite gathering place of the section of Lahore's youth with non-mainstream points of view.<ref name=TNI/> It maintained a reputation as a forum for people of diverse backgrounds to voice their opinions in a non-judgmental atmosphere.<ref name=TNI/>

In 1999, it was closed by its owner due to lack of business, a decision criticized by the intellectual community of Lahore.<ref name=TNI/> It remained closed for 13 years until 2 February 2012 when, on the orders of the Lahore commissioner, Pak Tea House was again put under the control of the YMCA.<ref name=Dawn/> On 8 March 2013, Pak Tea House located on Mall Road, near Neela Gumbad and Anarkali Bazaar, was reinaugurated by the [[Government of Punjab (Pakistan)|Government of Punjab]].<ref name=TNI/><ref name=Dawn5/>

In October 2013, the government handed over the Pak Tea House to the Walled City Lahore Authority.<ref name=Tribune3>{{Cite news|last=Naqvi|first=Hassan|date=2014-01-02|title=Restoration: Pak Tea House facade to be taken back in time |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/654152/restoration-pak-tea-house-facade-to-be-taken-back-in-time|access-date=2025-03-28 |newspaper=The Express Tribune newspaper|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250219050108/https://tribune.com.pk/story/654152/restoration-pak-tea-house-facade-to-be-taken-back-in-time|archive-date=19 February 2025|url-status=dead}}</ref> Pak Tea House is still popular amongst students who reportedly say that the food and snacks are reasonably priced and of good quality. Pictures of many literary figures who used to visit this place, are mounted on the cafe's walls.<ref name="Dawn2" />

==Reopening==
In June 2012, the government of Punjab announced its intention to reopen the Pak Tea House, where it would support itself.<ref name=Tribune2>{{cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/396573/court-paves-way-for-revival-of-pak-tea-house/|title=Court paves way for revival of Pak Tea House|newspaper=The Express Tribune newspaper|date=20 June 2012|access-date=28 March 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250221131328/https://tribune.com.pk/story/396573/court-paves-way-for-revival-of-pak-tea-house|archive-date=21 February 2025|url-status=dead}}</ref> On Friday 8 March 2013, Lahore's iconic Pak Tea House reopened after 13 years of closure. Among the attendees was the Pakistani writer [[Ata ul Haq Qasmi]]. Pak Tea House remains a special place for those who remember Lahore's lively literary and cultural past.<ref name=Dawn5/><ref name=Dawn/>

Noted Pakistani writer [[Intezar Hussain]] is quoted by [[BBC News]] as saying:<blockquote>"No other literary institution of the country including the Academy of Letters has credibility equal to the Pak Tea House".<ref name="BBC" /></blockquote>

==See also==
* [[Liberalism and progressivism within Islam]]
* [[Progressive Writers' Movement]]
* [[Secularism in Pakistan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/953284.stm Lahore tea house under threat] BBC News

{{Authority control}}

{{LahoreTopics}}
{{The Mall, Lahore}}

{{coord missing|Pakistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pak Tea House}}
[[Category:Culture in Lahore]]
[[Category:Progressivism in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Tea houses]]
[[Category:Pakistani literary critics]]
[[Category:The Mall, Lahore]]
[[Category:Coffeehouses and cafés in Pakistan]]
[[Category:YMCA buildings]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Lahore]]