Monday, July 20, 2009

Karachi The Mega City




Introduction
Karachi (Urdu: کراچی ) is the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 20th largest city of the world in terms of metropolitan population, and is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and trade. Karachi is also the home of Pakistan's largest corporations that are involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. It also serves as a major hub of higher education in South Asia, and the wider Islamic World. Karachi has been ranked as a Beta world city, as of 2008.
Karachi enjoys its prominent position due to its geographical location on a bay, making it the financial capital of the country. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It was the original capital of Pakistan until the construction of Islamabad, and is the location of the Port of Karachi, Port Bin Qasim, one of the region's largest and busiest ports. The city's population has increased dramatically at the time of independence when hundreds of thousands of refugees from India came to settle in the city. Since independence from Britain in 1947, the city's vibrant economy has attracted migrants from all over Pakistan, surrounding countries such as Iran, Tajikistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and further beyond.[citation needed] Despite a history of political turmoil, the city continues to attract those seeking prosperity and has shown consistent growth.
Karachi city is spread over 3,530 km² (2,193 sq mi) in area. It is locally known as the "City of Lights" (روشنين جو شهر) for its liveliness, and the "City of the Quaid" (شهرِ قائد), having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who also made the city his home after Pakistan's independence