Kharak

Karachi کراچی
Metropolis
Clockwise from top: The tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Frere Hall, a view of I. I. Chundrigar Road, the British colonial era Karachi Port Trust Building, the Mohatta Palace, Port of Karachi
Emblem
Nickname(s): City of the Quaid, Paris of Asia, The City of Lights, Bride of the Cities (عروس البلاد)
Karachi Show map of Sindh Karachi Show map of Pakistan Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 24°51′36″N 67°0′36″E / 24.86000°N 67.01000°E / 24.86000; 67.01000Coordinates: 24°51′36″N 67°0′36″E / 24.86000°N 67.01000°E / 24.86000; 67.01000
Country	Pakistan
Province	Sindh
Metropolitan Corporation	2011
City Council	City Complex, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town
Districts	6 Karachi East Karachi West Karachi South Karachi Central Malir Korangi
Government
• Type	Metropolitan City
• Mayor of Karachi	Waseem Akhtar
• Deputy Mayor of Karachi	Dr. Arshad A. Vohra
Area
• Total	3,780 km2 (1,460 sq mi)
Elevation	8 m (26 ft)
Population (2016)
• Total	27,506,000
• Rank	1 (Pakistan)
Demonym(s)	Karachiite
Time zone	PKT (UTC+05:00)
Postal codes	74XXX – 75XXX
Dialing code	+9221-XXXX XXXX
HDI	0.69
HDI Category	Medium
Website	www.kmc.gos.pk

Karachi (Urdu: کراچی‎; Sindhi: ڪراچي‎; ALA-LC: Karācī, IPA: [kəˈrɑːˌtʃi]) - the capital of the province of Sindh - is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan, as well as the 10th largest in the world and the world's second most populous city proper. Ranked as a beta world city, the city is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre. Karachi is also Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city. Located on the shores of the Arabian Sea, Karachi is a major transportation hub, home to two of Pakistan's largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Bin Qasim, as well as the busiest airport in Pakistan.

Though the surroundings of Karachi have been inhabited for millennia, the city itself was founded as a village named Kolachi which was established as a fortified settlement in 1729. The settlement increased in importance drastically with the arrival of British colonialists, who not only embarked on major works to transform the city into a major seaport, but also connected it with their extensive railway network. By the time of the Partition of India, the city was the largest in Sindh with an estimated population of 400,000. Immediately following the independence of Pakistan, the city's population increased dramatically with the arrival of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, with Karachi remaining the primary destination of Indian Muslim migrants throughout the 1950s and 1960s. The city experienced rapid economic growth following independence, attracting migrants from throughout Pakistan and South Asia.