Hashoo Group

Hashoo Group is a Pakistani multinational conglomerate headquartered in Islamabad founded in 1960 by Saddaruddin Hashwani in Karachi.

Hashoo Group was established as Hassan Ali & Company, a commodities trading company based in Karachi Port, by 1970s it has become one of Pakistan's largest trading companies. However in 1972 Pakistan nationalised cotton and rice exports leading the group to diversify into hospitality. In 1978, the group established Holiday Inn Hotel in Islamabad, and another one in Karachi in 1981.Both of the hotel's where converted into Marriott brand in 1990s. In 1985, the group made a successful bid for the majority shares of Pakistan Services Limited, which then owned four Inter-Continental Hotels across Pakistan, the hotel's where re-branded into Pearl-Continental Hotels.

In 1995, Hashoo Group acquired the US-based corporation Occidental Petroleum's Pakistan operation's (now known as Orient Petroleum Inc.). In 2001, it acquired the Destinations of the World franchise in Pakistan. In 2012, the group launched Hotel One, a mid range hotel chain in Pakistan.

On September 20, 2008, a Hashoo Group-owned hotel in Pakistan's capital Islamabad was bombed when a suicide attacker with an explosive-laden truck detonated the explosives, killing at least 53 people and injuring no less than 266, including foreign guests. The explosion, a truck bomb heard 30 km (19 mi) away in Rawalpindi, occurred at 7:40 P.M. PDT, just hours after newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari addressed Parliament, promising to end terrorism in the country. On 23 September, Sadruddin Hashwani promised to reopen the hotel on 31 December 2008, which would be accompanied by a celebration. In line with his promise, the hotel was reopened before the end of 2008.

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