Karāchi, Farhan Ahmad Siddiquicity and capital of Sindh province, southern Pakistan. It is the country’s largest city and principal seaport and is a major commercial and industrial centre. Karāchi is located on the coast of the Arabian Sea immediately northwest of the Indus River Delta.
The city has been variously called Caranjee, Crochey, Krotchey, Currachee, and Kurrachee. All its names are believed to be derived from the Sindhi name of the original settlement that initially stood on the spot—Kalachi-Jo-goth (meaning the village of Kalachi—the headman of the tribe).
The impetus to Karāchi’s development originally came from its role as the port serving the Indus River valley and the Punjab region of British India. The development of air travel subsequently increased Karāchi’s importance. It is also the port serving the landlocked country of Afghanistan. Area city, 228 square miles (591 square km); Greater Karāchi, 560 square miles (1,450 square km). Pop. (1998) city, 9,269,265; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 12,130,000.
Karāchi Harbour, on the shores of which the city is situated, is a safe and beautiful natural harbour. It is protected from storms by Kiamāri Island, Manora Island, and Oyster Rocks, which together block the greater part of the harbour entrance in the west.
A low-lying coastal strip runs along the shore of the harbour. Away from the coast, the ground rises gently to the north and east to form a large plain, from 5 to 120 feet (1.5 to 37 metres) above sea level, on which the city of Karāchi is built. The Malīr River, a seasonal stream, passes through the eastern part of the city, and the Layāri River, also seasonal, runs through the most densely populated northern section. Some ridges and isolated hills occur in the north and east; Mango Pīr, the highest elevation, is 585 feet high.
The 560 square miles that constituted the Federal Capital Area of Pakistan in 1948 are considered, for all practical purposes, to form the Karāchi metropolitan area. Almost half of the area is occupied by the city and its suburbs, and the surrounding 332 square miles consist of agricultural land and wasteland.
Karāchi has pleasant weather for the greater part of the year. May and June are the hottest months, when the mean maximum temperature is about 93 °F (34 °C). Spells of enervating weather occasionally prevail in May and October, during which the temperature shoots up to 105 °F (41 °C). The coolest months are January and February, during which the mean minimum temperature remains about 56 °F (13 °C). A biting north wind occasionally blows in these months, during which the temperature may drop to 40 °F (4 °C). The relative humidity varies from 58 percent in October, the driest month, to 82 percent in August, the wettest month. The average rainfall is 8 inches (203 mm); most of the rain falls during a total of 9 or 10 days in the months of June, July, and August.
The city faces pollution problems. High humidity in the region does not permit evaporation of stagnant water in some places, while fumes from factories and automobiles contribute to air pollution, in spite of land and sea breezes.
The natural vegetation is scanty. Seaweed rises in tangles, and mangroves grow along some of the shores. Coarse grass, cactus, and castor plants occur on the plains and hills, and date and coconut palms grow in the river valleys.
The common wild animals are wolves, chinkaras (a type of gazelle), hog deer, jackals, wild cats, and hares. Domestic animals include sheep, goats, horses, and cows. Local birds include geese, ducks, snipe, cranes, flamingos, and ibis. Various types of snakes are found in the region, particularly cobras, kraits, vipers, and pythons.
The most striking aspect of Karāchi’s layout is the west-to-east parallel alignment of the four arterial roads—Nishter Road (formerly called Lawrence Road), Mohammed Ali Jinnah Road (formerly Bandar Road), Shahrah-e-Liaquat (Frere Road), and I.I. Chundrigar Road (McCleod Road). Beginning at Mereweather Tower in the vicinity of the port, these roads run through the centre of the city. Several roads, such as Napier Road, Dr. Zia-ud-din Ahmed Road (Kutchery Road), and Garden Road, cut perpendicularly across these arteries from north to south.
The old town lies near the port, to the north of M.A. Jinnah Road, and with extensions stretching along the material roads for over a mile; unplanned, it is reminiscent of medieval towns of the Middle East or Europe. East of the old town are such districts as the Drigh Cantonment, the Civil Lines (residential areas for senior civil service officers), and the Saddar Bazar. This area is planned on a checkerboard pattern and shows European characteristics. Beyond this stretch several radial roads, along which growth has taken the form of neighbourhood units; each unit is laid out with straight, broad roads connected by smaller streets.
The land-use pattern of the city is complex. In the central area, the preponderance of residential property tends to form a matrix within which all other functions are distributed. There is, however, a marked concentration of commercial buildings at the western ends of M.A. Jinnah Road and I.I. Chundrigar Road. Wholesale businesses are located in the old town, retail businesses along M.A. Jinnah Road and in Saddar Bazar, and the government offices on Shahrah-e-Liaquat, near Saddar. The outer areas are dominated by dormitory suburbs interspersed with a scattering of cantonments (military quarters), agricultural tracts, saltworks, airports, railway stations, and marshaling yards.
The city proper has old and decayed buildings, occupied by members of the middle and lower income groups. Farther from the city centre are modern bungalows occupied by richer persons; the outer zone is occupied by workers.
Karāchi has a variety of types of buildings. The central area contains apartment bungalows, barracks, and multistoried buildings; the outer areas are characterized by bungalows, blocks of flats, and quarters (streets of small houses). Buildings of the British period were constructed with stone in Western styles of architecture; other stone buildings in the central city show a blending of Eastern and Western styles and have towers, domes, pillars, arches, hanging balconies, and rectangular courtyards. Buildings in the outer areas are built of cement blocks, and with few exceptions they show no uniformity in design. Some follow contemporary North American design, while others incorporate features of traditional Muslim architecture.
No ethnic group predominates in the city. Cultural and social activities essentially revolve around religion. The population is almost entirely Muslim, but there are also small Christian, Hindu, Parsi, Buddhist, and Jain minorities. Most of the Muslims are of Indian or Pakistani origin, except for “Makranis” and “Shiddies,” who have black African ancestry. They originated during the era of the slave trade in the days before British rule, when Karāchi was an important slave-trading centre. Some of the members of the Christian minority are of Indo-Pakistani origin, while others are descended from Portuguese or other European groups.
Textiles and footwear are the principal items manufactured, followed by such items as metal products, food and beverages, paper and printing, wood and furniture, machinery, chemicals and petroleum, leather and rubber, and electrical goods. Karāchi is also an important centre for handicrafts and cottage industries that produce handloomed cloth, lace, carpets, articles made of brass and bell metal (an alloy of copper and tin), pottery, leather goods, and gold and silver embroidery. Karāchi handles the entire seaborne trade of Pakistan and of landlocked Afghanistan.
There are more than 25 banks in Karāchi that have branches throughout Pakistan; these include the State Bank of Pakistan, the Habib Bank Ltd., the National Bank of Pakistan, the United Bank Ltd., the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan, and the Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan. The city is also the centre of about two dozen insurance companies, which play an important role in the economic development of the country by investing large sums in power development, housing programs, joint-stock companies, government loan securities, and savings certificates.
Karāchi has a stock exchange that handles nearly all of the transactions in government securities and in the shares of most of the important industrial and financial institutions.
The Karāchi-Peshāwar highway links the city with the interior of Pakistan, while the Karāchi-Ormāra highway extends along the coast. The Karāchi-to-Zāhedān highway connects it with Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. Express roads radiate from the city centre, while feeder roads connect the express roads with local streets.
Karāchi is the terminus of Pakistan’s railway system, which mainly serves to transport goods between Karāchi and the interior. There are also passenger trains, as well as a circular railway that skirts the city on the north and the east, for commuter traffic and the transport of goods between the port and the industrial areas.
Karāchi Airport provides international service. The port of Karāchi is one of the busiest east of Suez.
The city is administered by five institutions, the heads of which are appointed by the government. The Karāchi Municipal Corporation, constituted in 1852, performs a large number of civic functions affecting more than three-fourths of the population of Greater Karāchi. The Korangi-Lāndhi and Drigh-Malīr municipal committees were established in 1966 and 1970, respectively, to provide civic facilities to the suburban areas developed after 1947. The Karāchi Cantonment Board is the administrative body for the areas where the military are quartered. The Karāchi Port Trust administers the affairs of the port and is entrusted with the development and maintenance of the harbour.
The three main sources of the city’s water supply are Lake Hāleji, 55 miles (90 km) away, fed by the Indus River; wells that have been sunk in the dry bed of the Malīr River, 18 miles away; and Lake Kalri, 60 miles away, also fed by the Indus waters. Although the city’s water mains stretch for many miles, some of the outer areas, such as Lāndhi, Malīr, New Karāchi, and Mauripur, still have an acute water shortage.
The Karāchi Electric Supply Corporation is responsible for electricity services. It has several power stations located in the city; these stations use natural gas, diesel oil, or both. A nuclear power station is operated at Paradise Point.
Karāchi Municipal Corporation maintains a fleet of vehicles for refuse collection, night soil removal, dog catching, and antimalarial and antifly operations. Sweepers are employed to clean the streets. Sewage is disposed of by two underground drainage systems, and there are two sewage treatment plants, one serving the city proper and the other the outlying areas.
Karāchi proper has more than 20 general hospitals, as well as several hospitals specializing in tuberculosis, skin diseases, leprosy, and epidemic diseases. There are also child-welfare centres and dispensaries, in addition to general hospitals in the suburbs.
There are several well-equipped fire-fighting stations; separate fire brigade units are attached to the railway network. In addition, the Port Trust and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have services that can be used in emergencies.
The police are administered by the Sindh provincial administration; the inspector general of police is assisted by a force of more than 1,100. The city is divided into 40 police districts.
Karāchi has more than 900 schools, of which the majority are primary schools and the rest are secondary schools. More than half of all these are privately run, the rest being run by the government. Among schools established by different religious communities are Karāchi Grammar School, St. Joseph’s Convent School, and St. Patrick’s High School, all of which are Christian; a school for the Parsi community; and Sindh Madrassa, a Muslim school.
The University of Karāchi is the primary institution of higher education. It has more than 20 graduate departments in arts and sciences, as well as a graduate school of business administration. Courses in a variety of subjects, including commerce and law, are provided by about 75 colleges affiliated to the university. In addition, there is a medical college, as well as two engineering colleges, a polytechnic institute, a college of home economics, and two teacher-training colleges.
The Arts Council of Pakistan is the primary cultural institution in the city; it organizes various cultural functions including art exhibitions, and offers training in music. The Ghanshyam Art Centre and the Bulbul Academy promote Pakistani dancing and other cultural activities.
Karāchi does not have well-established theatre, but amateur dramas and variety shows are frequently staged in Katrak Hall. Motion pictures are more popular, and there are more than 50 cinema theatres.
Karāchi has a small museum containing relics of the early Indus Valley civilization and examples of the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra (a region of ancient India in what is now northwestern Pakistan); it also has some ethnological collections representing life in different regions of Pakistan.
The library of the University of Karāchi is the city’s largest, but there are other libraries containing books of a popular nature. Material of a more scholarly nature is to be found in the British Council Library, the American Center Library, and the Liaquat Memorial Library. The departmental libraries of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, and the National Archives contain collections of books on economics and on national matters.
There is a general shortage of open spaces and parks in Karāchi. Gandhi Gardens and Fatima Jinnah (Burns) Gardens are popular parks. There are a number of fine swimming and fishing beaches, such as Paradise Point, Hawkes Bay, Sandspit, Manora, and Clifton. The Karāchi Zoo is located in the Gandhi Gardens and contains a varied collection of mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Sports and games facilities are mostly provided by such associations as the Karāchi Gymkhana, the Parsi Gymkhana, the Agha Khan Gymkhana, and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Various organizations and educational institutions have their own playgrounds. The largest sports area is the National Stadium, which contains playgrounds for cricket, hockey, football (soccer), and tennis. There are also boating, yachting, and flying clubs.
Karāchi was a small fishing village when a group of traders moved there in the early 18th century from the decaying port of Kharak Bandar nearby. Besides the natural protection against monsoon storms, Manora Head furnished an excellent site for the defense of the harbour, and the Talpura amīrs who gained Karāchi from the khān of Kalāt in 1795 erected a permanent fort on it. The settlement expanded rapidly and was already of significance when it was captured in 1839 by the British, who annexed it in 1842, together with the province of Sindh. It then became an army headquarters for the British and also began to develop from a fishing village into the principal port for the Indus River region.
In 1843 a river-steamer service was introduced between Karāchi and Multān, about 500 miles up the Indus. Port facilities were improved from 1854 onward. In 1861 a railway was built from Karāchi to Kotri, 90 miles upstream on the right bank of the Indus, opposite Hyderābād. In 1864 direct telegraph communications were established with London and with the interior. With the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, the importance of Karāchi grew, and it became a full-fledged seaport. By 1873 it possessed an efficient and well-managed harbour.
Karāchi was connected directly with the hinterland when the railway line was extended from Kotri in 1878 to join the Delhi-Punjab railway system at Multān. In 1886 the Karāchi Port Trust was established as the port authority, and between 1888 and 1910 the East Wharf—186,000 feet in length—was constructed. When the Punjab emerged as the granary of India in the 1890s, Karāchi became the region’s principal outlet. By 1914 it had become the largest grain exporting port of the British Empire.
After World War I, manufacturing and service industries were installed. By 1924 an aerodrome had been built, and Karāchi became the main airport of entry to India. The city became the provincial capital of Sindh in 1936.
With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Karāchi became not only the capital and premier port of the new country but also a centre for industry, business, and administration. Although Rāwalpindi became the interim capital in 1959, before the capital permanently moved to Islāmābād in 1969, Karāchi maintained its preeminence as Pakistan’s business and industrial hub. In a development typical of many postcolonial megacities, this premier economic status subsequently contributed to an enormous increase in Karāchi’s population, as a huge influx of job-seeking immigrants from rural areas nearly doubled the city’s size in the final two decades of the 20th century. With the city’s infrastructure already overburdened to the breaking point, fully one-third of these new arrivals were forced to take up residence in urban shantytowns known as katchi abadis, which ordinarily lacked power, running water, or sanitation. The delivery of basic city services remained an ongoing problem for Karāchi into the 21st century.
The final quarter of the 20th century also brought a huge wave of urban violence and crime to Karāchi, in the form of ethnic violence between native Sindhis and more recent immigrants from India, the muhajirs, and in an increased rate of both simple crime and organized brigandage. The severity of lawlessness in Karāchi prompted the government to initiate a military crackdown on crime in the city in 1992, but this campaign did not begin to see significant results until the end of that decade.