Karachi (Urdu: كراچى ) (Sindhi: ڪراچي) is the largest city in Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. A native of Karachi is referred to as a Karachiite.
Karachi is the financial and commercial hub of Pakistan and an important port in the region. The city is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, northwest of the delta of the Indus River. It accounts for the lion's share of Pakistan's GDP and generates about 65% percent of the national revenue. Karachi claims highest per capita income in South Asia. It is the nucleus of regional business and technological activities and has one of the highest literacy rate in the country. It is also the home of distinguished academic and research institutions. With a population that is unofficially estimated at approximately 12 million, Karachi is the most populous city of the country and one of the largest cities in the world.
Geography
The city occupies an area of over 3,527 km². Karachi is mostly made up of flat or rolling plains with hills on the western and northern boundaries of the urban sprawl. Two rivers pass through the city: the Malir River (north east to centre) and the Lyari River (north to south). Many other smaller rivers pass through the city as well with general drainage being from the western and northern areas towards the south. The Karachi Harbour is a protected bay to the south west of the city. The harbour is protected from storms by Keamari Island, Manora Island and Oyster Rocks, which together block the greater part of the harbour entrance in the west. The southern limit of the city is the Arabian Sea and forms a chain of warm water beaches that are rich in natural beauty.
Climate
- Main article: Climate of Karachi
Karachi is located on the coast and as a result has a relatively mild climate. The level of precipitation is low for most of the year. However, due to the city's proximity to the sea, humidity levels usually remain high throughout the year. The city enjoys mild winters and hot summers. Karachi also receives the tail end of the monsoon rains. Since summer temperatures are quite high (the end of April through the end of August are approximately 35 to 40 degrees Celsius), the winter months (November through March) are the best time to visit Karachi. December, which is the most popular month for social events such as weddings, fundraisers and charity balls, is frequently the time when most visitors, tourists and expatriates come to Karachi.
History
Karachi — the city of
Quaid
The history of Karachi prior to the 19th century is brief. According to the legend, Krokola was settled when an old fisherwoman by the name of Mai Kolachi settled near the delta of the Indus river to start a community. At Krokola, Alexander the Great camped and built a fleet for the voyage back to Babylonia. Alexander's admiral Nearchus sailed back to Mesopotamia from 'Morontobara' port which is probably the modern Manora Island at Karachi harbor. When Muhammad bin Qasim conquered modern Pakistan in the year 712, the city was called Debal (or Debul). It has been said that Debal was the ancestral village of present day Karachi. However, this has neither been proven or disproven.
It was in 1772 that the village Kolachi-jo-Goth was changed from a fishing village to a trading post when it was selected as a port for trade with Muscat and Bahrain. In the following years a fort was built and cannons brought in from Muscat were mounted on it. The fort had two doorways, one facing the sea called the Kharo Dar (in Sindhi), Khara Dar (in Urdu) or Brackish Gate and one facing the River Lyari called the Mitho Dar (in Sindhi), Meetha Dar (in Urdu) or Sweet Gate. Currently, the site of those gates corresponds to the location of the neighbourhoods of Kharodar and Mithodar. In 1795 the city passed from the Khan of Kalat to the rulers of Sindh.
Karachi gained in position as port which led to its importance being recognised by the British, and consequently led to the conquering of the town on the 3rd of February 1839. Three years later, it was annexed into British India as a district. The British recognized the importance of Karachi as a natural harbor and port for the produce of the Indus basin, and the city was rapidly developed into a bustling port city. A famous quote about Karachi attributed to Charles Napier is Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!. Napier's quote proved almost prophetic as it was under the British Raj that Karachi would grow rapidly as its harbour was developed. When the First Indian War for Independence broke out in 1857, the 21st Native Infantry stationed in Karachi declared allegiance to the rebellion and joined the cause of the War on the 10th of September 1857. The uprising though, was defeated by the British who were able to quickly reassert their control over Karachi. In 1876, the founder of Pakistan Muhammed Ali Jinnah was born in the city, and he would later be buried there. By this time Karachi was a developed city with railroads, churches, masjids, paved streets, courts and many commercial centres as well as a magnificent harbour built by the British. Many of the buildings were built in classical British colonial style, contrasting significantly with the "Mughal Gothic" of Lahore. Many of these old buildings exist today and provide interesting destinations for visitors. Karachi continued to grow in size as well as importance due to its position as a major port. A railroad connected Karachi to the rest of British India in the 1880s. Population grew from 73,500 (1881), to 105,199 (1891), to 115,407 (1901) (Britannica 1911 ed.). In 1899 Karachi was said to be the largest wheat exporting port in the East (Feldman 1970:57). In 1911 when the capital was shifted to Delhi, Karachi became closer to being a Gateway to India. Karachi was declared the capital of the newly formed Sindh province in 1936, chosen over the traditional capital of Hyderabad.
In 1947, Karachi was made the capital of the new nation of Pakistan. At that time Karachi was a city of only 400,000 people, and its growth accelerated as a result of its new status. Being the capital, Karachi became a focal point for the new nation and this added to its status as a cultural centre in this part of the world. Although the capital later moved to Rawalpindi and then Islamabad, Karachi remains the economic centre of Pakistan, accounting for a large portion of the GDP of the country and a large chunk of the nation's white collar workers. In the 1960s, Karachi was seen as an economic role model around the area and there was much praise for the way its economy was progressing, but in the 1990s, the city was wracked with sectarian violence1992. In the last 20 years, Karachi has continued to grow, passing the 12 million mark. The current economic boom in Pakistan has created a sudden growth spurt in Karachi as jobs and infrastructure projects are increasing with time.
Government and Administrative Division
In order to decentralize the political, administrative and financial resources and responsibilities, the government of Pakistan designed a new devolution plan in 2000. The Local Government Plan 2000 and the Local Government Ordinance 2001 provided the legal roadmap to the aforesaid system that allow public participation in decision-making up to the grass-root level.
Civic Centre (city govt. offices) at Hasan Square
According to this plan, Karachi has a three-tier federated system, formed by:
The City-District of Karachi is divided into 18 towns governed by elected municipal administrations, responsible for infrastructure and spatial planning, development facilitation, and municipal services (water, sanitation, solid waste, repairing roads, parks, street lights, and traffic engineering), with some functions retained by the CDG.
The twons are sub-divided into 178 localities governed by elected union councils (UC's) which are the core element of the local government system. Each UC is a body of 13 directly elected members including a Nazim (mayor) and a Naib Nazim (deputy mayor). The UC Nazim heads the union administration and is responsible for facilitating the CDG to plan and execute municipal services, as well as for informing higher authorities about public concerns and complaints.
In the local body elections of 2005, Syed Mustafa Kamal was elected City Nazim of Karachi. He succeeds Naimatullah Khan. He took oath on October 17, 2005 at Bagh-e-Jinnah, Karachi [1]. Mustafa Kamal was the provincial minister for information technology in Sindh before assuming office as the city's mayor. His predecessor, Naimatullah Khan was chosen as one of the best mayors of 2004-05 in Asia [2].
List of Karachi towns
View of the I.I.Chundrigar Rd skyline, heart of the financial district of Karachi
List of Mayors/Nazims
The City of Karachi Municipal Act was promulgated in 1933. Initially the Municipal Corporation was administrated by the mayor and deputy mayor as well as 57 councillors. In 1976, the Karachi Municipal Corporation was upgraded to a Metropolitan Corporation. Later in 2000-01, it was given the status of City District Government.
For a historical list of city mayors/nazims please see: Mayors of Karachi
Demographics
| Historical populations |
Census
year |
Population |
|
| 1856 |
56,875 |
| 1872 |
56,753 |
| 1881 |
73,560 |
| 1891 |
105,199 |
| 1901 |
136,297 |
| 1911 |
186,771 |
| 1921 |
244,162 |
| 1931 |
300,799 |
| 1941 |
435,887 |
| 1951 |
1,068,459 |
| 1961 |
1,912,598 |
| 1972 |
3,426,310 |
| 1981 |
5,208,132 |
| 1998 |
9,269,265 |
| 2005 |
(estimated) 14 mn. |
Trend of Population Growth in Karachi
The population and demographic distribution of Karachi during last 150 years have greatly changed.
Non governmental and international sources report that Karachi's current population is estimated to be 14 to 15 million — a thirty-seven-fold increase over its population in 1947 (400,000). The city's population is currently growing at about 5% per year (mainly on account of rural-urban internal migration). Currently, Karachi is counted as one of the largest megacities of the world.
The dominant ethnic group in Karachi are the Muhajirs who migrated to Pakistan after Partition. The other large groups include the Punjabis and the Sindhis and the one million Afghan refugees who settled in Karachi after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The refugees include several ethnic groups: Pakhtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, and Turkmen, who have raised the number of Afghans to about 3 million. There are also hundreds of thousands of Bengalis, Arabs, Iranians, Arakani Muslim refugees (from the Rakhine State in Myanmar) and Africans immigrants are also settled in Karachi. There are also Goan Catholic Christians who settled in Karachi during the British era. The poor immigrants form a significant part of the slum areas population in Karachi.
The breakup of Karachi's population is as follows: Males form 53.7% of Karachiites. 37.6% of which are under the age of 15. 4.4% are older than 50. 22.1% of the city's population are migrants from other places.
According to 1998 census the linguistic distribution of population, is as follows. Urdu speaking 48.52%; Punjabi 13.94%; Sindhi 7.22%; Pushto 11.42%; Balochi 4.34%; Seraiki 2.11%; Others 12.4%. The others include Gujarati, Memon, Brahui, Makrani, Khowar, Burushaski, Arabic, Persian and Bengali.
According to the census the religious breakup of the city is as follows. Muslim 96.49%; Christian 2.35%; Hindu 0.83%; Ahmadi 0.17%; Others 0.13%. The others include Parsi, Zikri, Jews and Buddhist.
Economy
- Main article: Economy of Karachi
The Jinnah Bridge near Kiamari
View of Shahrah-e-Faisal, Karachi
Karachi is the financial capital of Pakistan. It accounts for the lion's share of Pakistan's GDP and generates about 65% percent of the national revenue. Most of Pakistan's public and private banks have their head offices in Karachi. Nearly all of these are located on I.I Chundrigar Road (Karachi Wall Street) which is fast becoming home to the high rise headquarters of major corporations. The most notable of these are the Habib Bank Plaza which was the tallest building in Pakistan before it was surpassed by Muslim Commercial Bank's MCB Tower.
Karachi Port Trust is building a 500 ft high Port Tower with commercial cum recreational center. Integrating into Karachi’s skyline, the main feature of the venture shall be a revolving restaurant, a viewing gallery offering a panoramic view of the coastline and the city. The Tower is planned to be located at the Clifton shoreline.
Besides banking and finance, Karachi also hosts the offices of foreign multinational corporations as well as corporations based in Pakistan. It is home to the largest stock exchange of Pakistan: the Karachi Stock Exchange. This financial boom helped Pakistan to achieve its ambitious goal of exceeding a seven percent growth in GDP for the fiscal year 2004-05.
The recent trend of ICT (Information & Communications Technology), electronic media and call centers has become a significant part of Karachi business hierarchy. Call centres for foreign companies have been targeted as a significant area of growth, with the government making efforts to reduce taxes by as much as 80 per cent in order to gain foreign investments in the IT sector.
Most of Pakistans' Independent Media Television channels are headquartered in Karachi. Geo television, Ary Digital and Aaj TV are the most popular ones. They generate huge business revenues for the city in advertising and provide jobs and entertainment. These channels are on satellite and can be seen all over the world.
Karachi also has a huge industrial base. There are large industrial estates on most of the fringes of the main city. The main industries are textiles, pharmaceuticals, steel, and automobiles. Apart from these, there are many cottage industries in the city as well. Karachi is also known as software outsourcing hub of Pakistan. It also has a rapidly flourishing Free Zone with an annual growth rate of nearly 6.5 per cent. An expo center has also been set up in Karachi and is now available to host many regional and International exhibitions.
Karachi is also home of major automobile manufacturing companies. Toyota is in the process of increasing production capacity to over 120,000 units/ annum. Suzuki Motor Company is also located in Karachi. The manufacturing plant located in Bin Qasim has a production capacity of 50,000 vehicles per year. Among others Millat Tractors, Adam motors, HinoPak Buses and Trucks manufacturing plants are also located in Karachi.
The Port of Karachi and Port Qasim are the two main ports of Pakistan, and are central to all shipping in Pakistan. The airport of Karachi, Quaid-e-Azam International Airport is also the largest airport in Pakistan.
During 1960s, Karachi was seen as an economic role model around the developing world, and there was much praise for the way its economy was progressing. Many countries sought to emulate Pakistan's economic planning strategy and one of them, South Korea, copied its Second Five Year Plan, 1960-65, not just that, World financial center in Seoul was designed and modelled after Karachi. And while in the early 1960s the per capita income of Pakistan was more or equal to Korea, the latter ended up among the more developed of the developing countries, with a GDP per capita greater than $8,000 today.
Art and literature
Karachi is home to some of Pakistan's important cultural institutions. The National Academy of Performing Arts NAPA, located in the newly renovated Hindu Gymkhana has a two year diploma course in performing arts that include classical music and contemporary theatre. The All Pakistan Musical Conference aims at bringing the joy of music back to this city. Set up by a group of concerned citizens, the APMC has linked itself to the 45 years old institution in Lahore. APMC-Karachi has been holding its Annual Music Festival since its inception in 2004. The Festival is now a well established feature of the city life of Karachi which is awaited anxiously and attended by more than 3000 citizens of Karachi as well as people from other cities. The National Arts Council (Koocha-e-Saqafat) also has musical performances and Mushaira (poetry recitations). Karachi has several excellent museums including the Mohatta Palace museum which regularly has exhibitions as well as the National Museum of Pakistan. The Kara Film Festival organised annually showcases independent Pakistani and international films and documentaries.
Culture and lifestyle
Karachi Creek Marina Club
The everyday lifestyle of Karachi differs substantially from that of other Pakistani towns. The culture of Karachi is characterized by the blending of Middle Eastern, South Asian and Western influences, as well as the status of the city as a major international business center. As a whole, there is considerable diversity in culture, and this diversity has produced unique cultural amalgam of its own type. Karachiites are urbane in humour, pragmatic in approach and rational in practice. Professionalism is appreciated over emotional and conservative attitude. Most of the dwellers live in medium sized houses and flats rather large open space houses of other cities in Pakistan. Karachi also hosts the largest middle class stratum of the country. Skewed difference of living standard and showy feudal living style do not exist in Karachi. Nearly all parties, functions and celebrations are scheduled at night time.
See also Chand Raat of Karachi - New Year's Eve in Karachi
Educational institutions
- For more details on this topic, see List of educational institutions in Karachi.
Karachi has the highest literacy rate of any of Pakistan's other cities as well as the highest number of universities and colleges. The city is well-known for its young student population who flock there from all parts of Pakistan. Most universities of Karachi are considered to be the premier educational institutions of Pakistan therefore the admissions process is intensely competitive with only the brightest and most talented making their way into NED University, Aga Khan University,Baqai medical university, University of Karachi, Institute of Business Administration (IBA), FAST - National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Indus Valley Institute of Art and Architecture, Bahria University, Textile Institute of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah University, Dow University of Health Sciences, Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology, Shaheed Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Hamdard University, H.E.J Research Institute of Chemistry, Applied Economics Research Centre (AERC), Institute of Business and Management (IBM), Jinnah University for Women and Dawood College of Engineering and Technology.
See also the list of universities in Karachi and list of educational institutions in Karachi.
Sports
National Stadium, Karachi is the pride of Pakistani cricket fans as the Pakistani team has a remarkable record in this arena. Karachi is also served by UBL Sports complex, KPT Sports complex, A O Cricket stadium and DHA Cricket stadium.
Sites of interest
The Saint Patrick's Cathedral
The newly built Port Fountain Jet: currently, the world's tallest fountain
The Clifton beach seafront, Karachi
- General
- Mazar-e-Quaid (Mausoleum of the founder of Pakistan- Muhammad Ali Jinnah)
- Koocha-e-Saqafat (National Arts Council)
- Mohatta Palace Museum
- Masjid e Tooba (A large domed mosque)
- I.I. Chundrigar Road (Karachi's "Wall street")
- Aga Khan Hospital (for its modernist Islamic architecture)
- Teen Talwar (Three Swords) Monument
- Beaches and Waterfront
- Clifton Sea View seafront
- Hawkesbay Beach (breeding ground for endangered turtles)
- Paradise Point (a rock promontory in the sea with a natural arch)
- Sandspit Beach
- French Beach
- Russian Beach
- Fishing and Crabbing on Keamari and Manora
- Creek Club Karachi (offers boating in the creek areas)
- Clifton Pavilion and the Jehangir Kothari Parade
- Clifton Beach Park
- Port Fountain Jet (600ft high pressure water fountain)
- Defence Golf Club
- Park Towers Shopping Mall
- Zamzama Commercial Area (famous for its designer outlets and cafes)
- World Wildlife Centre
- Abdullah Shah Ghazi Mazar (mausoleum of Karachi's sufi saint)
- Ibn-e-Qasim Park
- Museums
- Mazar-e-Quaid Museum
- Mohatta Palace Museum
- Pakistan Air Force Museum
- Pakistan Maritime Museum
- National Museum of Pakistan
- Karachi Expo Centre
- Colonial Buildings
- Mereweather Tower
- Frere Hall
- Governor's House
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- St. Joseph's Convent
- St. Anthony's Church
- Trinity Church
- Sindh High Court
- Former Victoria Museum (later used by the Supreme Court)
- Sindh Club
- Karachi Metropolitan Corporation Building
- Hindu Gymkhana (now National Academy of Performing Arts NAPA)
- Empress Market
- D.J. College
- Islands
- Clifton Oyster Rocks
- Manora Island
- Bundle Island
- Bhit Shah
- Shah Bandar
- Churna Island (Naval gunnery site, as well as Pakistan's only coral reefs)
- Amusement Parks
- PIA Planetariam
- Aladin Park
- Sindbad
- Hill Park
- Safari Park
- Karachi Zoo (AKA Gandhi garden)
- Taleemi Baagh
- Cosy Water Park
- Samzu Park
- Fun Land
- Play Land
- Fiesta park
- Dream World Resort
- Dolphin Park
- Askari Park
- Food
The Clifton beach in Karachi is the largest beachin Pakistan. Although it suffered a recent oil spill disaster, the beach has been cleaned and has floodlights installed for night-time visitors. The government has embarked on the beautification of Karachi's coastline by building a Beach park in Clifton which will eventually be connected to the Jehangir Kothari parade and Bagh Ibn- Qasim. There are also a lot of other excellent beaches near the city such as Sandspit, Hawke's Bay, the French Beach, Russian beach and Paradise Point (a sandstone rock promotory with a natural arch) that are frequented by flocks of visitors every day.
Shopping
Sunday textile market on the sidewalks of Karachi
Karachi is dotted with many shopping areas, large and small, all across the city. Karachiites are avid shoppers, as can be seen from the crowds of people these markets attract every evening. Tariq Road, Zamzama and Zaib-un-nissa Street are the most famous shopping areas in the city. One can find all sorts of clothing, garments, and beautiful fabrics in Karachi's bazaars, as well as a number of other items. The Saddar area in downtown Karachi is also home to countless large and small markets dealing from everyday household items to clothing and fabrics to electronics. Empress Market in Saddar is a large Victorian-era market, which is home to wholesellers of spices and other items. Some other notable shopping areas include Paposh Market and Hyrdi.
Karachi also has a number of large modern shopping malls, among which the Park Towers, The Forum, Millennium Mall and Dolmen Mall are notable. More of these malls are currently being built, including the Atrium Mall, Jumeira Mall and the Dolmen City Mall.
Transportation
The city has a modern international airport called the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport, Pakistan's busiest. The city's old airport terminals are now used for Hajj flights, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. U.S. Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply operations as well. Apart from this, the city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the armed forces.
Karachi has the largest shipping ports in Pakistan at Karachi Port and Port Qasim. These sea-ports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan, but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at Karachi Port.
Karachi is linked via railway to the rest of the country by the Pakistan Railways. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantt Station are the city's two major railway stations. The railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country. Karachi also has a circular railway system that is planned to be extended to play a part in the city's mass transit.
Currently, commuter traffic is handled primarily by motorists and minibuses, but there are plans to construct a light-rail based mass transit system in the city to decongest the roads and provide quick service to commuters.
Problems
Currently, being one of the most rapidly growing cities in the world, Karachi faces problems that are central to many developing metropolises including overpopulation, overcrowding, traffic, terrorism and crime.
Karachi faces a very severe problem of excessive traffic. According to official statistics, on an average annually 550 people are killed in road traffic accidents. The number of cars far outstrips the roads that they need to ply on. This makes driving considerably dangerous and causes loss of time due to traffic congestion.
Land Ownership
Karachi is located in semi-arid coastal desert area with very limited agriculture land along the two small seasonal rivers, Lyari River and Malir River, that pass through the city. Before independence, the area around Karachi had sparse nomadic population and most of the land was state owned. At the time of independence, Karachi was chosen as the first capital of Pakistan and the land area came under tight state control. According to the data prepared by the Master Plan and Environmental Control Unit of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) in 1988, nearly 400,000 acres of the 425,529 acres that make up Karachi's metropolitan area is in some form of public ownership. Government of Sindh owns 137,687 acres, KDA 124,676 acres, Karachi Port Trust (KPT) 25,259 acres, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) 24,189 acres, Army Cantonment Board 18,596 acres, Pakistan Steel Mills 19,461 acres, Defense Housing Society 16,567 acres, Port Qasim 12,961 acres, Government of Pakistan 4,051 acres and Pakistan Railways 3,119 acres. In late 1990s the undeveloped land belonging to KDA was transferred to the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and Lyari Development Authority (LDA). (Source Land as an Issue)
See also
External links
- Official
- Historic/Maps
- Photographs
- Popular Topics
- Non Government Organisations
The content of this page is retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karachi under GFDL
