Pakistan, July 29 -- Karachi's iconic Pioneer Book House, a literary landmark for eight decades, is bidding farewell to its original home on MA Jinnah Road.

The shop, which first opened in 1945, will soon relocate after the building's new owner, a developer, has moved to reclaim the space, marking the end of an era for the city's cultural heritage.

Author Maniza Naqvi, who took the helm of breathing life into the store, shared the news on her Facebook. For years, the bookstore operated under Karachi's traditional pagri system, a rent-control arrangement that granted long-term tenancy rights.

However, with developers buying up historic properties and reshaping the city's commercial landscape, the family behind Pioneer Book House could n...