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89-754: Qamar House , now known as the EFU Building , is a building in central Karachi , Pakistan, designed in the Art Deco architectural style by Qamardin Mahomed Hashwani in 1945 and built on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road between 1946 and 1955 by Qamardin & Co. It was the tallest building in Karachi until the construction of the Habib Bank Plaza building by the AKFED (Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development) in 1968. Qamar House

178-565: A desert climate , dominated by a long "Summer Season" while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea . The city has annual average precipitation levels (approx. 296 mm (12 in) per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the late June–September monsoon season. Summers are hot and humid, and Karachi is prone to deadly heatwaves. Over the past 20 years, rainfall has become more abundant. Tropical storms and thunderstorms, as well as flooding are becoming more common, especially during

267-533: A coastal plain with scattered rocky outcroppings, hills and marshlands. Mangrove forests grow in the brackish waters around the Karachi Harbour (see: Chinna Creek ), and farther southeast towards the expansive Indus River Delta . West of Karachi city is the Cape Monze , locally known as Ras Muari , which is an area characterised by sea cliffs, rocky sandstone promontories and beaches. Karachi lies very close to

356-465: A dramatic shift in population and demography with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, coupled with an exodus of most of its Hindu residents. The city experienced rapid economic growth following Pakistan's independence, attracting migrants from throughout the country and other regions in South Asia. According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan , Karachi's total population

445-505: A large portion of Karachi's economy, with the city home to several of Pakistan's largest companies dealing in textiles, cement, steel, heavy machinery, chemicals, and food products. The city is home to approximately 30 percent of Pakistan's manufacturing sector, and produces approximately 42 percent of Pakistan's value added in large scale manufacturing. At least 4500 industrial units form Karachi's formal industrial economy. Karachi's informal manufacturing sector employs far more people than

534-555: A large portion of its manufacturing base, Karachi contributes a large share of Pakistan's collected tax revenue. As most of Pakistan's large multinational corporations are based in Karachi, income taxes are paid in the city even though income may be generated from other parts of the country. As home to the country's two largest ports, Pakistani customs officials collect the bulk of federal duty and tariffs at Karachi's ports, even if those imports are destined for one of Pakistan's other provinces. Approximately 25% of Pakistan's national revenue

623-668: A major fault line, where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Arabian tectonic plate . However, Karachi lies near the western edge of the Indian Plate, on the Indo Gagnetic Plain. Within the city of Karachi are two small ranges: the Khasa Hills and Mulri Hills , which lie in the northwest and act as a barrier between North Nazimabad and Orangi . Karachi's hills are barren and are part of

712-481: A major port increased even further. In 1878, the British Raj connected Karachi with the network of British India's vast railway system . In 1887, Karachi Port underwent radical improvements with connection to the railways, along with expansion and dredging of the port, and construction of a breakwater. Karachi's first synagogue was established in 1893. By 1899, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port in

801-539: A number of households (1.3 million households) with annual income above $ 20,000 measured at PPP exchange rates by 2025. The Global FDI Intelligence Report 2017/2018 published by Financial Times ranks Karachi amongst the top 10 Asia pacific cities of the future for FDI strategy. According to Anatol Lieven the economic growth of Karachi is a result of the influx of Muhajirs to Karachi during late 1940s and early 50s. Most of Pakistan's public and private banks are headquartered on Karachi's I. I. Chundrigar Road , which

890-453: A population of over 400,000. The city had a slight Hindu majority, with around 51% of the population being Hindu. Partition resulted in the exodus of much of the city's Hindu population, though Karachi, like most of Sindh, remained relatively peaceful compared to cities in Punjab. Riots erupted on 6   January 1948, after which most of Sindh's Hindu population fled to India, with assistance of

979-460: A result of the operation, Karachi went from being ranked the world's 6th most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. In 2022 at least one million flood affectees from Sindh and Balochistan took refuge in Karachi. Karachi is located on the coastline of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, along the Karachi Harbour , a natural harbour on the Arabian Sea . Karachi is built on

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1068-586: A shortened and corrupted version of the original name Kolachi-jo-Goth , was used for the first time in a Dutch report from 1742 about a shipwreck near the settlement. The region around Karachi has been the site of human habitation for millennia. Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites have been excavated in the Mulri Hills along Karachi's northern outskirts. These earliest inhabitants are believed to have been hunter-gatherers , with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. The expansive Karachi region

1157-612: A third wave of Balochi settlers who arrived from central Sindh and southern Punjab. The Talpurs built the Manora Fort in 1797, which was used to protect Karachi's Harbour from al-Qasimi pirates. In 1799 or 1800, the founder of the Talpur dynasty, Mir Fateh Ali Khan, allowed the East India Company under Nathan Crow to establish a trading post in Karachi. He was allowed to build a house for himself in Karachi at that time, but by 1802

1246-527: A threat to its rule in the subcontinent . In 1857, Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railway chairman William Andrew suggested that rail lines to the Bolan Pass would have a strategic role in responding to a Russian threat. During the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–80), a new urgency was felt to construct a rail line to Quetta for easier access to the frontier. Work began on the line on 18 September 1879, and

1335-501: A transport hub, and contains Pakistan's two largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim , as well as Pakistan's busiest airport, Jinnah International Airport . Karachi is also considered to be Pakistan's fashion capital, and has hosted the annual Karachi Fashion Week since 2009. Known as the "City of Lights" in the 1960s and 1970s for its vibrant nightlife, Karachi was beset by sharp ethnic, sectarian, and political conflict in

1424-509: A yearly growth rate of 5.5%. Karachi contributes 90% of Sindh's GDP and accounts for approximately 25% of the total GDP of Pakistan. The city has a large informal economy which is not typically reflected in GDP estimates. The informal economy may constitute up to 36% of Pakistan's total economy, versus 22% of India's economy, and 13% of the Chinese economy. The informal sector employs up to 70% of

1513-539: Is generated in Karachi. History of rail transport in Pakistan The Scinde Railway Company was established in 1855, after Karachi 's potential as a seaport was first explored in the early 1850s. Henry Bartle Frere , who was appointed Commissioner of Sindh shortly after its fall in the Battle of Miani , sought permission from Lord Dalhousie to begin a survey for a seaport. The Scinde Railway

1602-441: Is 129 feet in height. While Qamar House was being built its recognition spread beyond Pakistan. On 5 July 1957 Aga Khan III appointed Qamardin Mahomed Hashwani as his Honorary Architect for Pakistan. His appointment for Pakistan was reaffirmed by Aga Khan IV succeeding his grandfather, when he appointed Qamardin as Honorary Architect for life for various projects throughout Pakistan. From inception in 1948 till 2002 Qamar House

1691-453: Is 732 kilometres (455 mi) long, with the last 100-kilometer section in Iran. It is little used, with one fortnightly train between Quetta and Zahidan. The Kandahar State Railway opened in 1881 and originally ran from Sibi and onward to Rindli, with the intention of reaching Quetta and Kandahar . However, the line never reached Quetta . The railway joined with the southern section of

1780-442: Is a metropolitan city and is considered Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, and among the country's most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse regions, as well as one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal cities. The region has been inhabited for millennia, but the city was formally founded as the fortified village of Kolachi as recently as 1729. The settlement greatly increased in importance with

1869-573: Is believed to have been known to the ancient Greeks , and may have been the site of Barbarikon , an ancient seaport which was located at the nearby mouth of the Indus River . Karachi may also have been referred to as Ramya in ancient Greek texts. The ancient site of Krokola , a natural harbour west of the Indus where Alexander the Great sailed his fleet for Achaemenid Assyria , may have been located near

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1958-627: Is known as "Pakistan's Wall Street", with a large percentage of the cash flow in the Pakistani economy taking place on I. I. Chundrigar Road. Most major foreign multinational corporations operating in Pakistan have their headquarters in Karachi. Karachi is also home to the Pakistan Stock Exchange , which was rated as Asia's best-performing stock market in 2015 on the heels of Pakistan's upgrade to emerging-market status by MSCI . Karachi has been

2047-594: Is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Sindh . It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the country's capital from 1947 to 1959. Ranked as a beta-global city , it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre , with an estimated GDP of over $ 200 billion ( PPP ) as of 2021 . Karachi

2136-436: Is the largest in the country. Karachi collects 35% of Pakistan's tax revenue , and generates approximately 25% of Pakistan's entire GDP . Approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachi's ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistan's foreign trade . Approximately 90% of the multinational corporations and 100% of the banks operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. It also serves as

2225-506: The 2010 Pakistan floods . By this point Karachi had become widely known for its high rates of violent crime, usually in relation to criminal activity, gang-warfare, sectarian violence, and extrajudicial killings. Recorded crimes sharply decreased following a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM party, and Islamist militants initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers . As

2314-554: The First Anglo-Afghan War . The Portuguese Goan community started migrating to Karachi in the 1820s as traders. The majority of the estimated 100,000 who came to Pakistan are primarily concentrated in Karachi. Sindh's capital was shifted from Hyderabad to Karachi in 1840 when Karachi was annexed to the British Empire after Major General Charles James Napier captured the rest of Sindh following his victory against

2403-618: The Mughal administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the Indus River Delta was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh . In 1553–54, Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis , mentioned a small port along the Sindh coast by the name of Kaurashi which may have been Karachi. The Chaukhandi tombs in Karachi's modern suburbs were built around this time between

2492-959: The Punjab Northern State Railway , the eastern section of the Sind–Sagar Railway , the southern section of the Sind–Pishin State Railway and the Kandahar State Railway . The NWR also absorbed several smaller railways, including the Quetta Link Railway (a strategic line constructed by the Scinde, Punjaub & Delhi Railway in 1887), Jammu–Sialkot Railway (opened in 1897), Kasur–Lodhran Railway (opened 1909–10 and later dismantled), Shorekot Road–Chichoki Railway (opened 1910), Sialkot–Narowal Railway (opened 1915), Shahdara Bagh–Narowal Railway (opened 1926) and

2581-634: The Sind–Pishin State Railway and, in 1886, amalgamated with other railways to form the North Western State Railway (NWR). From Sibi the line ran south-west, skirting the hills to Rindli, and originally followed the Bolan stream to its head on the plateau. Flooding led to the abandonment of this alignment, and the railway follows the Mashkaf Valley. Although the Bolan Pass rail construction enabled

2670-664: The Soviet–Afghan War . This was followed by refugees escaping from post-revolution Iran . At this time, Karachi was also rocked by political conflict, while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan . Conflict between the MQM party , and ethnic Sindhis , Pashtuns , Punjabis and Balochis was sharp. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of

2759-593: The Talpurs at the Battle of Miani . Following the 1843 annexation, on 17 February the entire province was amalgamated into the Bombay Presidency for the next 93 years, and Karachi remain the divisional headquarter. A few years later in 1846, Karachi suffered a large cholera outbreak, which led to the establishment of the Karachi Cholera Board (predecessor to the city's civic government). The city grew under

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2848-527: The Trans–Indus Railway (opened 1913). The military and strategic concerns for securing the border with Afghanistan were such that Francis Langford O'Callaghan, who was posted from the state railways as engineer-in-chief, was called on for a number of demanding railway projects, surveys and constructions in the Northwest Frontier . What began as military and strategic railway projects became part of

2937-501: The 15th and 18th centuries. The first port was established by the Kalhoras near Karachi in the mid-18th century, known as Kharak Bander. 19th century Karachi historian Seth Naomal Hotchand recorded that a small settlement of 20–25 huts existed along the Karachi Harbour that was known as Dibro , which was situated along a pool of water known as Kolachi-jo-Kun. In 1725, a band of Baloch settlers from Makran and Kalat had settled in

3026-403: The 1980s with the large-scale arrival of weaponry during the Soviet–Afghan War . The city had become well known for its high rates of violent crime, but recorded crimes sharply decreased following a crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM political party , and Islamist militants, initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers . As a result of the operation, Karachi dropped from being ranked

3115-510: The British into Bandar Road, which was renamed Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road . The name Karachee was used for the first time in a Dutch document from 1742, in which a merchant ship de Ridderkerk is shipwrecked near the settlement. In 1770s, Karachi came under the control of the Khan of Kalat , which attracted a second wave of Balochi settlers. In 1795, Karachi was annexed by the Talpurs , triggering

3204-695: The East. In 1901, Karachi's population was 117,000 with a further 109,000 included in the Municipal area. Under the British, the city's municipal government was established. Known as the Father of Modern Karachi , mayor Seth Harchandrai Vishandas led the municipal government to improve sanitary conditions in the Old City, as well as major infrastructure works in the New Town after his election in 1911. In 1914, Karachi had become

3293-523: The Indian government. Karachi became the focus for the resettlement of middle-class Muslim Muhajir refugees who fled India, with 470,000 refugees in Karachi by May 1948, leading to a drastic alteration of the city's demography . In 1941, Muslims were 42% of Karachi's population, but by 1951 made up 96% of the city's population. The city's population had tripled between 1941 and 1951. Urdu replaced Sindhi as Karachi's most widely spoken language; Sindhi

3382-699: The Jhelum river in Shahpur District and connected Jhelum to Lahore. The NWR Sind-Sagar Branch Line was the new name for the line and continued to be extended with branch lines and designated as part of the 'Frontier Section – Military Line'. The North Western State Railway ( reporting mark NWR ) was formed in January 1886 from the merger of the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway , the Indus Valley State Railway ,

3471-594: The NWR route to be selected, the line was later dismantled. The Sind–Sagar Railway was originally constructed as a Metre Gauge railway line from Lala Musa to Malakwal. In 1886 the Sind–Sagar Railway was amalgamated with other railways to form the North Western State Railway and railway line from was converted to broad gauge. The Chak Nizam Bridge, also known as Victoria Bridge, was completed in early 1887 over

3560-571: The North Western State Railway network at its formation in 1886. The Bolan Pass railway was completed in 1886, and the 1887 Khawaja Amran Railway Survey included the Khojak Tunnel and the Chaman Extension Railway. The Khojak Tunnel opened in 1891 and the railway reached Chaman , near the Afghan border. By 1905, it was the longest railway under one administration and the strategic railway of

3649-593: The Northwest Frontier. In 1947, much of the North Western State Railway in Pakistan became part of Pakistan Western Railways ; the Indian portion was incorporated into the Eastern Punjab Railway . After the independence of Pakistan following the partition of British India , 5,048 route miles (8,124 km) North Western Railway track became the Pakistan Railway. In 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and

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3738-594: The SP&;DR was merged with several other railways to form the North Western State Railway (NWR). The Indus Valley State Railway was undertaken by Scinde Railway chief resident engineer John Brunton, assisted by his son William Arthur Brunton , in 1869–70. The Empress Bridge , opened in 1878, carried the IVSR over the Sutlej River between Ferozepur (Firozpur, south of Lahore) and Kasur . The line reached Sukkur in 1879, and

3827-622: The Scinde Railway charter was expanded to include the construction of Punjab Railway connecting Multan The Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway was formed in 1870 from the incorporation of the Indus Steam Flotilla and the Scinde, Punjab and Delhi Railways by the Scinde Railway Company's Amalgamation Act of 1869. Deepak The company inherited a reputation as the worst-managed of the early private companies. After its purchase in 1885,

3916-529: The administration of its new Commissioner, Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was appointed in the 1850s. Karachi was recognized for its strategic importance, prompting the British to establish the Port of Karachi in 1854. Karachi rapidly became a transportation hub for British India owing to newly built port and rail infrastructure, as well as the increase in agricultural exports from the opening of productive tracts of newly irrigated land in Punjab and Sindh . By 1856,

4005-411: The arrival of the East India Company in the mid-19th century. British administrators embarked on substantial projects to transform the city into a major seaport, and connect it with the extensive railway network of the Indian subcontinent . At the time of Pakistan's independence in 1947, the city was the largest in Sindh with an estimated population of 400,000 people. Afterwards, the city experienced

4094-508: The capital of Sindh shifted again Hyderabad to Karachi until the national capital was shifted to Rawalpindi in 1958. While foreign embassies shifted away from Karachi, the city is host to numerous consulates and honorary consulates. Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme enacted by President Iskander Mirza . Karachi of the 1960s

4183-480: The city's most desirable properties. The aforementioned historic areas form the oldest portions of Karachi, and contain its most important monuments and government buildings, with the I. I. Chundrigar Road being home to most of Pakistan's banks, including the Habib Bank Plaza which was Pakistan's tallest building from 1963 until the early 2000s. Situated on a coastal plain northwest of Karachi's historic core lies

4272-430: The city's workforce. In 2018 The Global Metro Monitor Report ranked Karachi's economy as the best performing metropolitan economy in Pakistan. Today along with Pakistan's continued economic expansion Karachi is now ranked third in the world for consumer expenditure growth with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms in 2018 It is also ranked among the top cities in the world by an anticipated increase of

4361-507: The city, resulting in major flooding. Karachi's highest recorded temperature is 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded on 22 and 23 April 2017, and the lowest is 0 °C (32 °F) recorded on 21 January 1934. The city first developed around the Karachi Harbour, and owes much of its growth to its role as a seaport at the end of the 18th century, contrasted with Pakistan's millennia-old cities such as Lahore , Multan , and Peshawar . Karachi's Mithadar neighbourhood represents

4450-959: The city. Following the Rebellion, British colonial administrators continued to develop the city's infrastructure, but continued to neglect localities like Lyari , which was home to the city's original population of Sindhi fishermen and Balochi nomads. At the outbreak of the American Civil War , Karachi's port became an important cotton-exporting port, with Indus Steam Flotilla and Orient Inland Steam Navigation Company established to transport cotton from rest of Sindh to Karachi's port, and onwards to textile mills in England. With increased economic opportunities, economic migrants from several ethnicities and religions, including Anglo-British, Parsis , Marathis , and Goan Christians , among others, established themselves in Karachi, with many setting-up businesses in

4539-417: The colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland. In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley and the port of Debal , from where he launched his forces further into the Indus Valley in 712. Some have identified the port with Karachi, though some argue the location was somewhere between Karachi and the nearby city of Thatta . Under Mirza Ghazi Beg ,

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4628-514: The completion of the Karachi-Kotri Railway Line between 1858 and 1870. The Indus Steam Flotilla provided "the navigation of the Indus, &c, by means of steam vessels [sic], between Kotri and Multan, to be worked in connection with the railways." It plied the Indus and Chenab Rivers from Karachi Port in the south to Makhad in the north via Jhirk and Mithankot . The journey between Karachi and Multan alone took up to 40 days. The company had its headquarters in Kotri, and its promoters negotiated

4717-526: The controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992 – an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994. Anti-Hindu riots also broke out in Karachi in 1992 in retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India by a group of Hindu nationalists earlier that year. In 1996, two (02) more districts created in the Karachi division named Central and Malir districts. The 2010s saw another influx of hundreds of thousands of Pashtun refugees fleeing conflict in North-West Pakistan and

4806-433: The extent of Kolachi prior to British rule. British Karachi was divided between the "New Town" and the "Old Town", with British investments focused primarily on the New Town. The Old Town was a largely unplanned neighbourhood which housed most of the city's indigenous residents and had no access to sewerage systems, electricity, and water. The New Town was subdivided into residential, commercial, and military areas. Given

4895-481: The first 215 kilometres (134 mi) from Ruk to Sibi was completed in January 1880. Beyond Sibi, however, the terrain was difficult. After harsh weather, the over-320-kilometre (200 mi) line finally reached Quetta in March 1887. The Trans-Balochistan Railway ran from Quetta to Taftan and onward to the Iranian city of Zahidan . It was named the Nushki Extension Railway, since its construction began west of Nushki in 1916. The line reached Zahidan in 1922. It

4984-583: The formal sector, though proxy data suggest that the capital employed and value-added from such informal enterprises is far smaller than that of formal sector enterprises. An estimated 63% of the Karachi's workforce is employed in trade and manufacturing. Karachi Export Processing Zone, SITE, Korangi , Northern Bypass Industrial Zone, Bin Qasim and North Karachi serve as large industrial estates in Karachi. The Karachi Expo Centre also complements Karachi's industrial economy by hosting regional and international exhibitions. As home to Pakistan's largest ports and

5073-454: The government of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1972 onwards. To appease conservative forces, Bhutto banned alcohol in Pakistan, and cracked-down of Karachi's discotheques and cabarets - leading to the closure of Karachi's once-lively nightlife. The city's art scene was further repressed during the rule of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq . Zia's Islamization policies lead the Westernized upper-middle classes of Karachi to largely withdraw from

5162-698: The greater Defence Housing Authority project. Karachi's city limits also include several islands, including Baba and Bhit Islands , Oyster Rocks, and Manora , a former island which is now connected to the mainland by a thin 12-kilometre long shoal known as Sandspit . Gulistan-e-Johar , Gulshan-e-Iqbal , Federal B. Area , Malir , Landhi and Korangi areas were all developed after 1970. The city has been described as one divided into sections for those able to afford to live in planned localities with access to urban amenities, and those who live in unplanned communities with inadequate access to such services. 35% of Karachi's residents live in unplanned communities. Being

5251-470: The hamlet after fleeing droughts and tribal feuds. A new settlement was built in 1729 at the site of Dibro , which came to be known as Kolachi-jo-Goth ("The village of Kolachi"). The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , a resident of the old settlement whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile. Kolachi was about 40 hectares in size, with some smaller fishing villages scattered in its vicinity. The founders of

5340-452: The larger Kirthar Range , and have a maximum elevation of 528 metres (1,732 feet). Between the hills are wide coastal plains interspersed with dry river beds and water channels. Karachi has developed around the Malir River and Lyari Rivers , with the Lyari shore being the site of the settlement for Kolachi . To the east of Karachi lies the Indus River flood plains. Karachi has a tropical semi arid climate ( Köppen : BSh ), formerly

5429-494: The largest city, Karachi is also Pakistan's financial and commercial capital. Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the centre of the nation's economy, and remain's Pakistan's largest urban economy despite the economic stagnation caused by sociopolitical unrest during the late 1980s and 1990s. The city forms the centre of an economic corridor stretching from Karachi to nearby Hyderabad , and Thatta . As of 2021 , Karachi had an estimated GDP (PPP) of $ 190 billion with

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5518-519: The largest wheat-exporting port of the entire British Empire, after large irrigation works in Sindh were initiated to increase wheat and cotton yields. By 1924, the Drigh Road Aerodrome was established, now the Faisal Air Force Base . Karachi's increasing importance as a cosmopolitan transportation hub leads to the influence of non-Sindhis in Sindh's administration. Half the city was born outside of Karachi by as early as 1921. Native Sindhis were upset by this influence, and so on 1 April 1936, Sindh

5607-478: The mid-1960s, Karachi began to attract large numbers of Pashtun , Punjabis and Kashmiris from northern Pakistan. The 1970s saw a construction boom funded by remittances and investments from the Gulf States , and the appearance of apartment buildings in the city. Real-estate prices soared during this period, leading to a worsening housing crisis. The period also saw labour unrest in Karachi's industrial estates beginning in 1970 that were violently repressed by

5696-525: The mouth of Karachi's Malir River , though some believe it was located near Gizri . No other natural harbour exists near the mouth of the Indus that could accommodate a large fleet. Nearchus , who commanded Alexander's naval fleet, also mentioned a hilly island by the name of Morontobara and an adjacent flat island named Bibakta , which colonial historians identified as Karachi's Manora Point and Kiamari (or Clifton ), respectively, based on Greek descriptions. Both areas were island until well into

5785-423: The new commercial district of Saddar . Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, was born in Karachi's Wazir Mansion in 1876 to such migrants from Gujarat . Public building works were undertaken at this time in Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles, including the construction of Frere Hall in 1865 and the later Empress Market in 1889. With the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Karachi's position as

5874-415: The new fortified settlement were Sindhi Baniyas , and are said to have arrived from the nearby town of Kharak Bandar after the harbour there silted in 1728 after heavy rains. Kolachi was fortified, and defended with cannons imported from Muscat, Oman . Under the Talpurs, the Rah-i-Bandar road was built to connect the city's port to the caravan terminals. This road would eventually be further developed by

5963-622: The pioneer in cable networking in Pakistan with the most sophisticated of the cable networks of any city of Pakistan, and has seen an expansion of information and communications technology and electronic media . The city has become a software outsourcing hub for Pakistan. Several independent television and radio stations are based in Karachi, including Business Plus , AAJ News , Geo TV , KTN , Sindh TV , CNBC Pakistan , TV ONE , Express TV , ARY Digital , Indus Television Network, Samaa TV , Abb Takk News , Bol TV , and Dawn News , as well as several local stations. Industry contributes

6052-466: The public sphere, and instead form their own social venues that became inaccessible to the poor. This decade also saw an influx of more than one million Bihari immigrants into Karachi from the newly made country Bangladesh which separated from Pakistan in 1971. In 1972, the Karachi district divided into three districts, East , West and South districts. The 1980s and 1990s saw an influx of almost one million Afghan refugees into Karachi fleeing

6141-424: The same guaranteed rate of return as the original guaranteed railways. It later merged with the Scinde and Punjab Railways to form the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway . With the Scinde Railway in place, the Indus Flotilla steamers could take cargo from Kotri instead of Karachi (saving about 150 miles (240 km) through the Indus River delta). The railway bypassed Jhirk (Jherruk), reducing its importance. In 1856,

6230-600: The sea maintains humidity levels at near-constant levels year-round. Thus, the climate is similar to a humid tropical climate, except for the low precipitation and occasional temperatures well over 100 F (38 C) due to the influence of the Thar Desert nearby, close to the border with India. The city's highest annual rainfall was about 750-850 mm, recorded in the late 1970s. The city's highest monthly rainfall, 19 in (480 mm), occurred in July 1967. The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred on 7   August 1953, when about 278.1 millimetres (10.95 in) of rain lashed

6319-444: The sprawling district of Orangi . North of the historic core is the largely middle-class district of Nazimabad , and upper-middle-class North Nazimabad , which were developed in the 1950s. To the east of the historic core is the area known as Defence , an expansive upscale suburb developed and administered by the Pakistan Army . Karachi's coastal plains along the Arabian Sea south of Clifton were also developed much later as part of

6408-613: The steam ferry which transported eight wagons at a time across the Indus between Rohri and Sukkur was found to be cumbersome and time-consuming. The opening of the Lansdowne Bridge in 1889 resolved the bottleneck, and Karachi Port was connected to the rail network. With other companies, the Indus Valley State Railway was merged with the Scinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway in 1886 to form the North Western State Railway . The Punjab Northern State Railway , opened in 1876,

6497-548: The strategic value of the city, the British developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison in the New Town to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War . The city's development was largely confined to the area north of the Chinna Creek prior to independence, although the seaside area of Clifton was also developed as a posh locale under the British, and its large bungalows and estates remain some of

6586-532: The summer monsoon. On the other hand, cool sea breezes typically provide relief during hot summer months. A text message-based early warning system alerts people to take precautionary measures and helps prevent fatalities during an unusually strong heatwave or thunderstorm. The winter climate is dry and lasts between December and February. It is dry and pleasant in winter relative to the warm hot season that follows, which starts in March and lasts until October. Proximity to

6675-529: The value of goods traded through Karachi reached £855,103, leading to the establishment of merchant offices and warehouses. The population in 1856 is estimated to have been 57,000. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, mutinied and declared allegiance to rebel forces in September 1857, though the British were able to quickly defeat the rebels and reassert control over

6764-419: The world's 6th-most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. Modern Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi-jo-Goth during the rule of Kalhora dynasty . The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The name Karachee,

6853-453: Was 20.3 million. Karachi is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and has significant communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan . Karachi holds more than two million Bengali immigrants , a million Afghan refugees , and up to 400,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar . Karachi is now Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre. The city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $ 190 billion as of 2021 , which

6942-514: Was a line between Lahore and Peshawar . The route of what became the railway was first surveyed in 1857, followed by years of political and military debate. The Punjab Northern State Railway was created in 1870–71 to construct and operate a railway between Lahore and Peshawar. The first section of line (from Lahore to Peshawar) was opened in 1876, and in 1883 the Attock Bridge over the Indus River

7031-414: Was acquired by EFU in 2002 to be the head office for Eastern Federal Union , the largest insurance company in Pakistan. Afterwards, it was officially named EFU Building. This Karachi -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Karachi Karachi ( / k ə ˈ r ɑː tʃ i / ; Urdu : کراچی ; Sindhi : ڪراچي ‎ ; IPA: [kəˈraːtʃi] )

7120-514: Was an estimated 8,000 to 14,000, and was confined to the walled city in Mithadar , with suburbs in what is now the Serai Quarter . British troops, known as the "Company Bahadur" established a camp to the east of the captured city, which became the precursor to the modern Karachi Cantonment . The British further developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison to aid the British war effort in

7209-722: Was built on Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road across from the Karachi Port Trust Building erected in colonial prepartition times, and in the vicinity of the Merewether Clock Tower another colonial preparation monument in Karachi. Qamar House was designed by Qamardin Mahomed Hashwani in 1945 in the Art Deco style, and was built in partnership with Qamardin Jaffer Valliani and both their brothers and partners Ahmedali Mahomed Hashwani and Tajdin Jaffer Valliani by their Partnership Qamardin & Others. It has 12 floors, and

7298-555: Was completed. Francis Joseph Edward Spring was deployed from the Imperial Civil Service's engineering section in 1873 as consulting engineer for the PNSR survey and the construction of portions of the railway and bridges, and remained attached to the railway until 1878. Several major bridges were constructed to complete the PNSR line from Lahore to Peshawar. Government considered Russia , who might advance from Afghanistan into Quetta,

7387-546: Was established as a province separate from the Bombay Presidency with Karachi was once again made capital of Sindh. In 1941, the population of the city had risen to 387,000. At the dawn of independence following the success of the Pakistan Movement in 1947, On 15 August 1947 Capital of Sindh shifted from Karachi to Hyderabad and Karachi was made the national capital of Pakistan. Karachi was Sindh's largest city with

7476-643: Was established by a settlement in March 1855, and was incorporated by Parliament in the Scinde Railway Act of July of that year. Frere began the rail survey in 1858, and a rail line from Karachi to Kotri ; steam navigation up the Indus and Chenab Rivers to Multan , and another rail line to Lahore were proposed. Work on the railway began in April 1858, and Karachi and Kotri—a distance of 108 miles (174 km)—were connected by rail on 13 May 1861. The Punjab Railway

7565-749: Was established shortly after the July 1855 passage of the Scinde Railway Act. As the Karachi-to-Kotri line was being constructed and the Indus Steam Flotilla was being set up to transport passengers to Multan , the Punjab Railway was laid from Multan to Lahore and onward to Amritsar . The line opened in 1861, connecting Karachi and Lahore. The Indus Steam Flotilla was a freight and passenger steamship company which operated initially between Karachi and Multan and later between Kotri and Multan after

7654-412: Was initially owned by four original partners of Qamardin & Others : Qamardin Mahomed Hashwani 25%, Qamardin Jaffer Valliani 25%, Ahmed Ali Mahomed Hashwani 25%, Tajdin Jaffer Valliani 25%; subsequently, original four owners successively gifted of their 25% shares sub-fractionally to members within each of their nuclear families. Blob:https://web.whatsapp.com/e2d54a8b-2eed-46cd-baf7-12a87fabfe36 It

7743-502: Was ordered to leave the city. The city continued to be ruled by the Talpurs until it was occupied by forces under the command of John Keane in February 1839. The British East India Company captured Karachi on 3   February 1839 after HMS  Wellesley opened fire and quickly destroyed Manora Fort , which guarded Karachi Harbour at Manora Point . Karachi's population at the time

7832-498: Was regarded as an economic role model around the world, with Seoul , South Korea, borrowing from the city's second "Five-Year Plan". Several examples of Modernist architect were built in Karachi during this period, including the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum, the distinct Masjid-e-Tooba , and the Habib Bank Plaza (the tallest building in all of South Asia at the time). The city's population by 1961 had grown 369% compared to 1941. By

7921-419: Was the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi in 1941, but only 8.5% in 1951, while Urdu grew to become the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi's population. 100,000 Muhajir refugees arrived annually in Karachi until 1952. Muhajirs kept arriving from different parts of India till 2000. Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan, and was administered as a federal district separate from Sindh beginning in 1948,

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