Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan and is the provincial capital of Sindh province. Located on the coast of the Arabian Sea, north-west of the Indus River Delta, the megacity is the largest city, original capital and cultural, economical, philantropic, educational, and political hub, as well as the largest port of the country.
As Pakistan's economic capital, its leading economic sectors include finance, business services, transportation, media, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education and tourism.
The Narayan Jagannath High School at Karachi was the first government school established in Sindh. It was opened in October 1855. Karachi has well known educational institutes of international standards. Most universities of Karachi are considered to be amongst the premier educational institutions of Pakistan.
Karachi is also host to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), one of the most sought after business school of Pakistan. IBA, founded in 1955, is the oldest business school outside North America. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, is an MBA from this institute.
Cricket is the most popular sport of the city, and is usually played in many small grounds around the city. Gully cricket, is played in the narrow by-lanes of the city. Night time cricket which can be seen at weekends when people play brightly lit night matches on less traversed city streets. The major venue for cricket matches is the National Stadium but matches are also hosted at the UBL Sports Complex, The A.O. Cricket Stadium, the KCCA Cricket Ground, the Karachi Gymkhana Field and the DHA Cricket Stadium.
The other popular sports are hockey, boxing, football, golf, table tennis, snooker, squash, and horse racing. Other sports like Badminton, volleyball and basketball are also famous in school and colleges.
The city also has facilities for hockey (the Hockey Stadium of Pakistan, UBL Hockey Ground), boxing (KPT Sports Complex), squash (Jehangir Khan Squash Complex) and football (People's Football Stadium and the Polo Grounds). In 2005, the city hosted the SAFF Cup Football Tournament at the People's Football Stadium. Marinas and Boating Clubs also add to the diverse sporting activities in Karachi.
Karachi has a number of sporting clubs such as the Karachi Gymkhana, the Sindh Club, the Karachi Club, Kashmir club, Aga Khan sports club, the Muslim Gymkhana, the Creek Club and the DHA Club that provide sporting facilities to their members, including tennis, badminton and squash courts, swimming pools, jogging tracks, gymnasiums, billiards and much more. There are two world class golf clubs, at DHA and Karsaz.
Karachi is dotted with many shopping areas, large and small, attracting large crowds of shoppers in the evenings. Saddar, Gulf Shopping Mall, Bahadurabad, Tariq Road, Zamzama, Zaib-un-nissa Street (Elphinestone Street) Hyderi and Waterpump (Anarkali Bazar) are the most famous shopping areas in the city. One can find all sorts of clothing, garments, and fabrics in Karachi's bazaars, as well as a number of other items. The Saddar area in downtown Karachi is also home to countless large and small markets dealing from everyday household items to clothing and fabrics to electronics. Empress Market in Saddar is a large Victorian-era market, home to wholesalers of spices and other items. Saddar is also home to the Rainbow Centre, one of the largest hubs of pirated CDs in the world. Some other notable shopping areas include Paposh Market and Hydari.
Some of the major shopping malls in Karachi are:
The Jinnah International Airport is located in Karachi. It is the largest and busiest airport of the country. It handles 10 million passengers a year. The airport also receives the largest number of foreign airlines, a total of 27 airlines fly to Jinnah International predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia. All of Pakistan's airlines use Karachi as their Primary hub including Pakistan International Airlines, Aero Asia International, Airblue and Shaheen Air.
The city's old airport terminals are now used for Hajj flights, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. U.S. Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply operations as well. The city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the armed forces.
Karachi has the largest shipping ports in Pakistan at the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim. These seaports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan, but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at Karachi Port.
Karachi is linked by rail to the rest of the country by the Pakistan Railways. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Station are the city's two major railway stations. The railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country. Plans are underway to extend the intra-city railway system to play a part in the city's mass transit through Karachi Circular Railway system. Currently, primarily motorists and minibuses handle commuter traffic, but there are plans to construct a light-rail based mass transit system in the city to decongest the roads and provide quick service to commuters.
As Pakistan's economic capital, its leading economic sectors include finance, business services, transportation, media, television production, publishing, software production, medical research, education and tourism.
Education
The Narayan Jagannath High School at Karachi was the first government school established in Sindh. It was opened in October 1855. Karachi has well known educational institutes of international standards. Most universities of Karachi are considered to be amongst the premier educational institutions of Pakistan.
Karachi is also host to the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), one of the most sought after business school of Pakistan. IBA, founded in 1955, is the oldest business school outside North America. Pakistan's Prime Minister, Mr. Shaukat Aziz, is an MBA from this institute.
Sports
Cricket is the most popular sport of the city, and is usually played in many small grounds around the city. Gully cricket, is played in the narrow by-lanes of the city. Night time cricket which can be seen at weekends when people play brightly lit night matches on less traversed city streets. The major venue for cricket matches is the National Stadium but matches are also hosted at the UBL Sports Complex, The A.O. Cricket Stadium, the KCCA Cricket Ground, the Karachi Gymkhana Field and the DHA Cricket Stadium.
The other popular sports are hockey, boxing, football, golf, table tennis, snooker, squash, and horse racing. Other sports like Badminton, volleyball and basketball are also famous in school and colleges.
The city also has facilities for hockey (the Hockey Stadium of Pakistan, UBL Hockey Ground), boxing (KPT Sports Complex), squash (Jehangir Khan Squash Complex) and football (People's Football Stadium and the Polo Grounds). In 2005, the city hosted the SAFF Cup Football Tournament at the People's Football Stadium. Marinas and Boating Clubs also add to the diverse sporting activities in Karachi.
Karachi has a number of sporting clubs such as the Karachi Gymkhana, the Sindh Club, the Karachi Club, Kashmir club, Aga Khan sports club, the Muslim Gymkhana, the Creek Club and the DHA Club that provide sporting facilities to their members, including tennis, badminton and squash courts, swimming pools, jogging tracks, gymnasiums, billiards and much more. There are two world class golf clubs, at DHA and Karsaz.
Shopping
Karachi is dotted with many shopping areas, large and small, attracting large crowds of shoppers in the evenings. Saddar, Gulf Shopping Mall, Bahadurabad, Tariq Road, Zamzama, Zaib-un-nissa Street (Elphinestone Street) Hyderi and Waterpump (Anarkali Bazar) are the most famous shopping areas in the city. One can find all sorts of clothing, garments, and fabrics in Karachi's bazaars, as well as a number of other items. The Saddar area in downtown Karachi is also home to countless large and small markets dealing from everyday household items to clothing and fabrics to electronics. Empress Market in Saddar is a large Victorian-era market, home to wholesalers of spices and other items. Saddar is also home to the Rainbow Centre, one of the largest hubs of pirated CDs in the world. Some other notable shopping areas include Paposh Market and Hydari.
Some of the major shopping malls in Karachi are:
- Millenium Mall (Located in Gulshan-e-Iqbal)
- Park Towers (Located in Clifton)
- Dmart (Sea View)
- Dolmen Mall (Located on Tariq Road)
- Jumeirah Mall (Located on Tariq Road)
- Naheed Super Market (Located near Tariq Road)
- The Forum (Located in Clifton)
- Tariq Road Bazaar
- Zamzama Boulevard (Located in the Clifton/DHA area, various local/western stores including Costa Coffee, Copper Kettle, Dejavu, Roasters, Arizona Grill,Okra etc.)
- Gulf Area Market (many traditional vendors and more upscale boutiques and designer shoes)
- Zainab Market
- Liaqat Abad Bazar
- Sadar Bazar
- Hyderi Bazaar (North Nazimabad)
- Anarkali Bazar (Water Pump)
Transportation
The Jinnah International Airport is located in Karachi. It is the largest and busiest airport of the country. It handles 10 million passengers a year. The airport also receives the largest number of foreign airlines, a total of 27 airlines fly to Jinnah International predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia. All of Pakistan's airlines use Karachi as their Primary hub including Pakistan International Airlines, Aero Asia International, Airblue and Shaheen Air.
The city's old airport terminals are now used for Hajj flights, cargo facilities, and ceremonial visits from heads of state. U.S. Coalition forces used the old terminals for their logistic supply operations as well. The city also has two other airstrips used primarily by the armed forces.
Karachi has the largest shipping ports in Pakistan at the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim. These seaports have modern facilities and not only handle trade for Pakistan, but also serve as ports for Afghanistan and the land-locked Central Asian countries. Plans have been announced for new passenger facilities at Karachi Port.
Karachi is linked by rail to the rest of the country by the Pakistan Railways. The Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Station are the city's two major railway stations. The railway system handles a large amount of freight to and from the Karachi port apart from providing passenger services to people travelling up country. Plans are underway to extend the intra-city railway system to play a part in the city's mass transit through Karachi Circular Railway system. Currently, primarily motorists and minibuses handle commuter traffic, but there are plans to construct a light-rail based mass transit system in the city to decongest the roads and provide quick service to commuters.
