Karachi - The City of Lights
KarÄchi is the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. It is the 3rd largest city in the world by population and 20th largest city of the world, in terms of metropolitan population. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and trade. Karachi is also 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 also 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 and Port Bin Qasim, one of the region's largest and busiest ports. The city's population increased dramatically at the time of independence, when hundreds of thousands of refugees from India, Burma 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. It is locally known as the "City of Lights" (روشنين جو شهر) for its liveliness, and the "City of the Quaid" (شهر٠قائد), 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.
