Karachi
Karachi (help·info) (Urdu: کراچی, Sindhi: ڪراچي कराची) is the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. With a city population of 15.5 million, Karachi is one of the world's largest cities,[4] 13th largest urban agglomeration[5], the 20th largest metropolitan area in the world,[6] and the 2nd largest city within the Organisation of the Islamic Conference. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and trade. Karachi is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those that are involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Islamic world.[7] Karachi is ranked as a Beta world city.[8][9]
Karachi enjoys its prominent position because of 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 and Port Bin Qasim, one of the region's largest and busiest ports. After the partition of India and the independence of Pakistan, the city's population increased dramatically when hundreds of thousands of migrants from India, East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and other parts of South Asia came to settle in the city.
Karachi city is spread over 3,530 km2 (1,360 sq mi) in area, almost five times bigger than Singapore. It is locally known as the "City of Lights" (روشنین جو شهر) and "The bride of the cities" (عروس البلاد) 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 made the city his home after Pakistan's independence.
