95-735: The Toba Kakar or Toba Kakari ( Pashto : توبه کاکړۍ ; Urdu : توبہ کاکڑ ) are a southern offshoot of the Sulaiman Mountains in the Balochistan province of Pakistan , extending into the Kandahar and Zabul provinces of Afghanistan . The historical route through the mountains is known as the Bolan Pass . The mountains originally received media attention in August 1979; when evidence emerged that Pakistan may be using them as
190-571: A desert climate , dominated by a long "Summer Season" while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea . The city has annual average precipitation levels (approx. 296 mm (12 in) per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the late June–September monsoon season. Summers are hot and humid, and Karachi is prone to deadly heatwaves. Over the past 20 years, rainfall has become more abundant. Tropical storms and thunderstorms, as well as flooding are becoming more common, especially during
285-453: A royal decree of Zahir Shah formally granted Pashto the status of an official language, with full rights to use in all aspects of government and education – despite the fact that the ethnically Pashtun royal family and bureaucrats mostly spoke Persian. Thus Pashto became a national language , a symbol for Pashtun nationalism . The constitutional assembly reaffirmed the status of Pashto as an official language in 1964 when Afghan Persian
380-546: A coastal plain with scattered rocky outcroppings, hills and marshlands. Mangrove forests grow in the brackish waters around the Karachi Harbour (see: Chinna Creek ), and farther southeast towards the expansive Indus River Delta . West of Karachi city is the Cape Monze , locally known as Ras Muari , which is an area characterised by sea cliffs, rocky sandstone promontories and beaches. Karachi lies very close to
475-645: A device). Post-7th century borrowings came primarily from Persian and Hindi-Urdu , with Arabic words being borrowed through Persian, but sometimes directly. Modern speech borrows words from English, French , and German . However, a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto. Here is an exemplary list of Pure Pashto and borrowings: naṛә́i jahān dunyā tod/táwda garm aṛtyā́ ḍarurah híla umid də...pə aṛá bāra bolә́la qasidah Karachi Karachi ( / k ə ˈ r ɑː tʃ i / ; Urdu : کراچی ; Sindhi : ڪراچي ; IPA: [kəˈraːtʃi] )
570-471: A dramatic shift in population and demography with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants from India, coupled with an exodus of most of its Hindu residents. The city experienced rapid economic growth following Pakistan's independence, attracting migrants from throughout the country and other regions in South Asia. According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan , Karachi's total population
665-505: A large portion of Karachi's economy, with the city home to several of Pakistan's largest companies dealing in textiles, cement, steel, heavy machinery, chemicals, and food products. The city is home to approximately 30 percent of Pakistan's manufacturing sector, and produces approximately 42 percent of Pakistan's value added in large scale manufacturing. At least 4500 industrial units form Karachi's formal industrial economy. Karachi's informal manufacturing sector employs far more people than
760-610: A large portion of its manufacturing base, Karachi contributes a large share of Pakistan's collected tax revenue. As most of Pakistan's large multinational corporations are based in Karachi, income taxes are paid in the city even though income may be generated from other parts of the country. As home to the country's two largest ports, Pakistani customs officials collect the bulk of federal duty and tariffs at Karachi's ports, even if those imports are destined for one of Pakistan's other provinces. Approximately 25% of Pakistan's national revenue
855-698: A major fault line, where the Indian tectonic plate meets the Arabian tectonic plate . However, Karachi lies near the western edge of the Indian Plate, on the Indo Gagnetic Plain. Within the city of Karachi are two small ranges: the Khasa Hills and Mulri Hills , which lie in the northwest and act as a barrier between North Nazimabad and Orangi . Karachi's hills are barren and are part of
950-487: A major port increased even further. In 1878, the British Raj connected Karachi with the network of British India's vast railway system . In 1887, Karachi Port underwent radical improvements with connection to the railways, along with expansion and dredging of the port, and construction of a breakwater. Karachi's first synagogue was established in 1893. By 1899, Karachi had become the largest wheat-exporting port in
1045-539: A number of households (1.3 million households) with annual income above $ 20,000 measured at PPP exchange rates by 2025. The Global FDI Intelligence Report 2017/2018 published by Financial Times ranks Karachi amongst the top 10 Asia pacific cities of the future for FDI strategy. According to Anatol Lieven the economic growth of Karachi is a result of the influx of Muhajirs to Karachi during late 1940s and early 50s. Most of Pakistan's public and private banks are headquartered on Karachi's I. I. Chundrigar Road , which
SECTION 10
#17327974336621140-457: A population of over 400,000. The city had a slight Hindu majority, with around 51% of the population being Hindu. Partition resulted in the exodus of much of the city's Hindu population, though Karachi, like most of Sindh, remained relatively peaceful compared to cities in Punjab. Riots erupted on 6 January 1948, after which most of Sindh's Hindu population fled to India, with assistance of
1235-794: A potential workspace towards development of nuclear weapons . It was an occasional hideout for the Taliban during the Afghanistan conflict . A western offshoot of the range in Killa Abdullah , Balochistan and Maruf District , Afghanistan is called the Toba Achakzai , where Ahmad Shah Durrani , the founder of Afghanistan, used to pass some of the hot weeks in summer during the last few years of his life. 31°15′N 68°00′E / 31.250°N 68.000°E / 31.250; 68.000 This Balochistan location article
1330-665: A promoter of the wealth and antiquity of Afghanistan's Pashto culture." From the 16th century, Pashto poetry become very popular among the Pashtuns. Some of those who wrote in Pashto are Bayazid Pir Roshan (a major inventor of the Pashto alphabet ), Khushal Khan Khattak , Rahman Baba , Nazo Tokhi , and Ahmad Shah Durrani , founder of the modern state of Afghanistan or the Durrani Empire . The Pashtun literary tradition grew in
1425-467: A result of the operation, Karachi went from being ranked the world's 6th most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. In 2022 at least one million flood affectees from Sindh and Balochistan took refuge in Karachi. Karachi is located on the coastline of Sindh province in southern Pakistan, along the Karachi Harbour , a natural harbour on the Arabian Sea . Karachi is built on
1520-592: A shortened and corrupted version of the original name Kolachi-jo-Goth , was used for the first time in a Dutch report from 1742 about a shipwreck near the settlement. The region around Karachi has been the site of human habitation for millennia. Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites have been excavated in the Mulri Hills along Karachi's northern outskirts. These earliest inhabitants are believed to have been hunter-gatherers , with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. The expansive Karachi region
1615-630: A third wave of Balochi settlers who arrived from central Sindh and southern Punjab. The Talpurs built the Manora Fort in 1797, which was used to protect Karachi's Harbour from al-Qasimi pirates. In 1799 or 1800, the founder of the Talpur dynasty, Mir Fateh Ali Khan, allowed the East India Company under Nathan Crow to establish a trading post in Karachi. He was allowed to build a house for himself in Karachi at that time, but by 1802
1710-505: A transport hub, and contains Pakistan's two largest seaports, the Port of Karachi and Port Qasim , as well as Pakistan's busiest airport, Jinnah International Airport . Karachi is also considered to be Pakistan's fashion capital, and has hosted the annual Karachi Fashion Week since 2009. Known as the "City of Lights" in the 1960s and 1970s for its vibrant nightlife, Karachi was beset by sharp ethnic, sectarian, and political conflict in
1805-522: A variety very similar to it, while others have attempted to place it closer to Bactrian . However, neither position is universally agreed upon. What scholars do agree on is the fact that Pashto is an Eastern Iranian language sharing characteristics with Eastern Middle Iranian languages such as Bactrian, Khwarezmian and Sogdian . Compare with other Eastern Iranian Languages and Old Avestan : Zə tā winə́m /ɐz dɐ wənən/ Az bū tū dzunim Strabo , who lived between 64 BC and 24 CE, explains that
1900-517: A yearly growth rate of 5.5%. Karachi contributes 90% of Sindh's GDP and accounts for approximately 25% of the total GDP of Pakistan. The city has a large informal economy which is not typically reflected in GDP estimates. The informal economy may constitute up to 36% of Pakistan's total economy, versus 22% of India's economy, and 13% of the Chinese economy. The informal sector employs up to 70% of
1995-574: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Pashto language Pashto ( / ˈ p ʌ ʃ t oʊ / PUH -shto , / ˈ p æ ʃ t oʊ / PASH -toe ; پښتو , Pəx̌tó , [pəʂˈto, pʊxˈto, pəʃˈto, pəçˈto] ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family , natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan . It has official status in Afghanistan and
SECTION 20
#17327974336622090-442: Is a metropolitan city and is considered Pakistan's most cosmopolitan city, and among the country's most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse regions, as well as one of the country's most progressive and socially liberal cities. The region has been inhabited for millennia, but the city was formally founded as the fortified village of Kolachi as recently as 1729. The settlement greatly increased in importance with
2185-587: Is believed to have been known to the ancient Greeks , and may have been the site of Barbarikon , an ancient seaport which was located at the nearby mouth of the Indus River . Karachi may also have been referred to as Ramya in ancient Greek texts. The ancient site of Krokola , a natural harbour west of the Indus where Alexander the Great sailed his fleet for Achaemenid Assyria , may have been located near
2280-647: Is known as "Pakistan's Wall Street", with a large percentage of the cash flow in the Pakistani economy taking place on I. I. Chundrigar Road. Most major foreign multinational corporations operating in Pakistan have their headquarters in Karachi. Karachi is also home to the Pakistan Stock Exchange , which was rated as Asia's best-performing stock market in 2015 on the heels of Pakistan's upgrade to emerging-market status by MSCI . Karachi has been
2375-508: Is taught poorly in schools in Pakistan. Moreover, in government schools material is not provided for in the Pashto dialect of that locality, Pashto being a dialectically rich language. Further, researchers have observed that Pashtun students are unable to fully comprehend educational material in Urdu. Professor Tariq Rahman states: "The government of Pakistan, faced with irredentist claims from Afghanistan on its territory, also discouraged
2470-604: Is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Sindh . It is the largest city in Pakistan and 12th largest in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast and formerly served as the country's capital from 1947 to 1959. Ranked as a beta-global city , it is Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre , with an estimated GDP of over $ 200 billion ( PPP ) as of 2021 . Karachi
2565-436: Is the largest in the country. Karachi collects 35% of Pakistan's tax revenue , and generates approximately 25% of Pakistan's entire GDP . Approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachi's ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistan's foreign trade . Approximately 90% of the multinational corporations and 100% of the banks operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. It also serves as
2660-466: Is the primary language of the Pashtun diaspora around the world. The total number of Pashto-speakers is at least 40 million, although some estimates place it as high as 60 million. Pashto is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" amongst Pashtuns. A national language of Afghanistan , Pashto is primarily spoken in the east, south, and southwest, but also in some northern and western parts of
2755-517: The 2010 Pakistan floods . By this point Karachi had become widely known for its high rates of violent crime, usually in relation to criminal activity, gang-warfare, sectarian violence, and extrajudicial killings. Recorded crimes sharply decreased following a controversial crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM party, and Islamist militants initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers . As
2850-571: The First Anglo-Afghan War . The Portuguese Goan community started migrating to Karachi in the 1820s as traders. The majority of the estimated 100,000 who came to Pakistan are primarily concentrated in Karachi. Sindh's capital was shifted from Hyderabad to Karachi in 1840 when Karachi was annexed to the British Empire after Major General Charles James Napier captured the rest of Sindh following his victory against
2945-634: The Mughal administrator of Sindh, the development of coastal Sindh and the Indus River Delta was encouraged. Under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh . In 1553–54, Ottoman admiral Seydi Ali Reis , mentioned a small port along the Sindh coast by the name of Kaurashi which may have been Karachi. The Chaukhandi tombs in Karachi's modern suburbs were built around this time between
Toba Kakar - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-519: The Pashtun tribes spoke Pashto as their native tongue . King Amanullah Khan began promoting Pashto during his reign (1926–1929) as a marker of ethnic identity and as a symbol of "official nationalism" leading Afghanistan to independence after the defeat of the British Empire in the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919. In the 1930s, a movement began to take hold to promote Pashto as a language of government, administration, and art with
3135-641: The Punjab province , areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and in Islamabad . Pashto speakers are found in other major cities of Pakistan, most notably Karachi , Sindh, which may have the largest Pashtun population of any city in the world. Other communities of Pashto speakers are found in India , Tajikistan , and northeastern Iran (primarily in South Khorasan Province to the east of Qaen , near
3230-616: The Soviet–Afghan War . This was followed by refugees escaping from post-revolution Iran . At this time, Karachi was also rocked by political conflict, while crime rates drastically increased with the arrival of weaponry from the War in Afghanistan . Conflict between the MQM party , and ethnic Sindhis , Pashtuns , Punjabis and Balochis was sharp. The party and its vast network of supporters were targeted by Pakistani security forces as part of
3325-667: The Talpurs at the Battle of Miani . Following the 1843 annexation, on 17 February the entire province was amalgamated into the Bombay Presidency for the next 93 years, and Karachi remain the divisional headquarter. A few years later in 1846, Karachi suffered a large cholera outbreak, which led to the establishment of the Karachi Cholera Board (predecessor to the city's civic government). The city grew under
3420-506: The 15th and 18th centuries. The first port was established by the Kalhoras near Karachi in the mid-18th century, known as Kharak Bander. 19th century Karachi historian Seth Naomal Hotchand recorded that a small settlement of 20–25 huts existed along the Karachi Harbour that was known as Dibro , which was situated along a pool of water known as Kolachi-jo-Kun. In 1725, a band of Baloch settlers from Makran and Kalat had settled in
3515-403: The 1980s with the large-scale arrival of weaponry during the Soviet–Afghan War . The city had become well known for its high rates of violent crime, but recorded crimes sharply decreased following a crackdown operation against criminals, the MQM political party , and Islamist militants, initiated in 2013 by the Pakistan Rangers . As a result of the operation, Karachi dropped from being ranked
3610-770: The 8th century, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana . Pə́ṭa Xazāná ( پټه خزانه ) is a Pashto manuscript claimed to be written by Mohammad Hotak under the patronage of the Pashtun emperor Hussain Hotak in Kandahar ; containing an anthology of Pashto poets. However, its authenticity is disputed by scholars such as David Neil MacKenzie and Lucia Serena Loi. Nile Green comments in this regard: "In 1944, Habibi claimed to have discovered an eighteenth-century manuscript anthology containing much older biographies and verses of Pashto poets that stretched back as far as
3705-711: The Afghan border). In India most ethnic Pashtun (Pathan) peoples speak the geographically native Hindi-Urdu language rather than Pashto, but there are small numbers of Pashto speakers, such as the Sheen Khalai in Rajasthan , and the Pathan community in the city of Kolkata , often nicknamed the Kabuliwala ("people of Kabul "). Pashtun diaspora communities in other countries around the world speak Pashto, especially
3800-519: The British into Bandar Road, which was renamed Muhammad Ali Jinnah Road . The name Karachee was used for the first time in a Dutch document from 1742, in which a merchant ship de Ridderkerk is shipwrecked near the settlement. In 1770s, Karachi came under the control of the Khan of Kalat , which attracted a second wave of Balochi settlers. In 1795, Karachi was annexed by the Talpurs , triggering
3895-718: The East. In 1901, Karachi's population was 117,000 with a further 109,000 included in the Municipal area. Under the British, the city's municipal government was established. Known as the Father of Modern Karachi , mayor Seth Harchandrai Vishandas led the municipal government to improve sanitary conditions in the Old City, as well as major infrastructure works in the New Town after his election in 1911. In 1914, Karachi had become
Toba Kakar - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-527: The Indian government. Karachi became the focus for the resettlement of middle-class Muslim Muhajir refugees who fled India, with 470,000 refugees in Karachi by May 1948, leading to a drastic alteration of the city's demography . In 1941, Muslims were 42% of Karachi's population, but by 1951 made up 96% of the city's population. The city's population had tripled between 1941 and 1951. Urdu replaced Sindhi as Karachi's most widely spoken language; Sindhi
4085-501: The Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa . It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ( افغانی , Afghāni ). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns , it is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan alongside Dari , and it is the second-largest provincial language of Pakistan , spoken mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the northern districts of Balochistan . Likewise, it
4180-529: The Pashto Movement and eventually allowed its use in peripheral domains only after the Pakhtun elite had been co-opted by the ruling elite...Thus, even though there is still an active desire among some Pakhtun activists to use Pashto in the domains of power, it is more of a symbol of Pakhtun identity than one of nationalism." Robert Nicols states: "In the end, national language policy, especially in
4275-680: The Society's annual meeting in 1927. In 1955, Pashtun intellectuals including Abdul Qadir formed the Pashto Academy Peshawar on the model of Pashto Tolana formed in Afghanistan. In 1974, the Department of Pashto was established in the University of Balochistan for the promotion of Pashto. In Pakistan, Pashto is the first language around of 15% of its population (per the 1998 census). However, Urdu and English are
4370-481: The administration of its new Commissioner, Henry Bartle Edward Frere , who was appointed in the 1850s. Karachi was recognized for its strategic importance, prompting the British to establish the Port of Karachi in 1854. Karachi rapidly became a transportation hub for British India owing to newly built port and rail infrastructure, as well as the increase in agricultural exports from the opening of productive tracts of newly irrigated land in Punjab and Sindh . By 1856,
4465-411: The arrival of the East India Company in the mid-19th century. British administrators embarked on substantial projects to transform the city into a major seaport, and connect it with the extensive railway network of the Indian subcontinent . At the time of Pakistan's independence in 1947, the city was the largest in Sindh with an estimated population of 400,000 people. Afterwards, the city experienced
4560-511: The backdrop to weakening Pashtun power following Mughal rule: Khushal Khan Khattak used Pashto poetry to rally for Pashtun unity and Pir Bayazid as an expedient means to spread his message to the Pashtun masses. For instance Khushal Khattak laments in : "The Afghans (Pashtuns) are far superior to the Mughals at the sword, Were but the Afghans, in intellect, a little discreet. If
4655-518: The capital of Sindh shifted again Hyderabad to Karachi until the national capital was shifted to Rawalpindi in 1958. While foreign embassies shifted away from Karachi, the city is host to numerous consulates and honorary consulates. Between 1958 and 1970, Karachi's role as capital of Sindh was ceased due to the One Unit programme enacted by President Iskander Mirza . Karachi of the 1960s
4750-488: The city's most desirable properties. The aforementioned historic areas form the oldest portions of Karachi, and contain its most important monuments and government buildings, with the I. I. Chundrigar Road being home to most of Pakistan's banks, including the Habib Bank Plaza which was Pakistan's tallest building from 1963 until the early 2000s. Situated on a coastal plain northwest of Karachi's historic core lies
4845-430: The city's workforce. In 2018 The Global Metro Monitor Report ranked Karachi's economy as the best performing metropolitan economy in Pakistan. Today along with Pakistan's continued economic expansion Karachi is now ranked third in the world for consumer expenditure growth with its market anticipated to increase by 6.6% in real terms in 2018 It is also ranked among the top cities in the world by an anticipated increase of
SECTION 50
#17327974336624940-507: The city, resulting in major flooding. Karachi's highest recorded temperature is 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded on 22 and 23 April 2017, and the lowest is 0 °C (32 °F) recorded on 21 January 1934. The city first developed around the Karachi Harbour, and owes much of its growth to its role as a seaport at the end of the 18th century, contrasted with Pakistan's millennia-old cities such as Lahore , Multan , and Peshawar . Karachi's Mithadar neighbourhood represents
5035-977: The city. Following the Rebellion, British colonial administrators continued to develop the city's infrastructure, but continued to neglect localities like Lyari , which was home to the city's original population of Sindhi fishermen and Balochi nomads. At the outbreak of the American Civil War , Karachi's port became an important cotton-exporting port, with Indus Steam Flotilla and Orient Inland Steam Navigation Company established to transport cotton from rest of Sindh to Karachi's port, and onwards to textile mills in England. With increased economic opportunities, economic migrants from several ethnicities and religions, including Anglo-British, Parsis , Marathis , and Goan Christians , among others, established themselves in Karachi, with many setting-up businesses in
5130-581: The colonial era, when silting in led to them being connected to the mainland. In 711 CE, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley and the port of Debal , from where he launched his forces further into the Indus Valley in 712. Some have identified the port with Karachi, though some argue the location was somewhere between Karachi and the nearby city of Thatta . Under Mirza Ghazi Beg ,
5225-763: The controversial Operation Clean-up in 1992 – an effort to restore peace in the city that lasted until 1994. Anti-Hindu riots also broke out in Karachi in 1992 in retaliation for the demolition of the Babri Mosque in India by a group of Hindu nationalists earlier that year. In 1996, two (02) more districts created in the Karachi division named Central and Malir districts. The 2010s saw another influx of hundreds of thousands of Pashtun refugees fleeing conflict in North-West Pakistan and
5320-416: The country. The exact number of speakers is unavailable, but different estimates show that Pashto is the mother tongue of 45–60% of the total population of Afghanistan . In Pakistan , Pashto is spoken by 15% of its population, mainly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern districts of Balochistan province. It is also spoken in parts of Mianwali and Attock districts of
5415-410: The different tribes would but support each other, Kings would have to bow down in prostration before them" Pashto is a subject–object–verb (SOV) language with split ergativity . In Pashto, this means that the verb agrees with the subject in transitive and intransitive sentences in non-past, non-completed clauses, but when a completed action is reported in any of the past tenses, the verb agrees with
5510-443: The eighth century. It was an extraordinary claim, implying as it did that the history of Pashto literature reached back further in time than Persian, thus supplanting the hold of Persian over the medieval Afghan past. Although it was later convincingly discredited through formal linguistic analysis, Habibi's publication of the text under the title Pata Khazana ('Hidden Treasure') would (in Afghanistan at least) establish his reputation as
5605-433: The establishment of a Pashto Society Pashto Anjuman in 1931 and the inauguration of the Kabul University in 1932 as well as the formation of the Pashto Academy (Pashto Tolana) in 1937. Muhammad Na'im Khan, the minister of education between 1938 and 1946, inaugurated the formal policy of promoting Pashto as Afghanistan's national language, leading to the commission and publication of Pashto textbooks. The Pashto Tolana
5700-433: The extent of Kolachi prior to British rule. British Karachi was divided between the "New Town" and the "Old Town", with British investments focused primarily on the New Town. The Old Town was a largely unplanned neighbourhood which housed most of the city's indigenous residents and had no access to sewerage systems, electricity, and water. The New Town was subdivided into residential, commercial, and military areas. Given
5795-400: The field of education in the NWFP, had constructed a type of three tiered language hierarchy. Pashto lagged far behind Urdu and English in prestige or development in almost every domain of political or economic power..." Although Pashto used as a medium of instruction in schools for Pashtun students results in better understanding and comprehension for students when compared to using Urdu, still
SECTION 60
#17327974336625890-583: The formal sector, though proxy data suggest that the capital employed and value-added from such informal enterprises is far smaller than that of formal sector enterprises. An estimated 63% of the Karachi's workforce is employed in trade and manufacturing. Karachi Export Processing Zone, SITE, Korangi , Northern Bypass Industrial Zone, Bin Qasim and North Karachi serve as large industrial estates in Karachi. The Karachi Expo Centre also complements Karachi's industrial economy by hosting regional and international exhibitions. As home to Pakistan's largest ports and
5985-399: The government of Pakistan has only introduced Pashto at the primary levels in state-run schools. Taimur Khan remarks: "the dominant Urdu language squeezes and denies any space for Pashto language in the official and formal capacity. In this contact zone, Pashto language exists but in a subordinate and unofficial capacity". Some linguists have argued that Pashto is descended from Avestan or
6080-454: The government of President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto from 1972 onwards. To appease conservative forces, Bhutto banned alcohol in Pakistan, and cracked-down of Karachi's discotheques and cabarets - leading to the closure of Karachi's once-lively nightlife. The city's art scene was further repressed during the rule of dictator General Zia-ul-Haq . Zia's Islamization policies lead the Westernized upper-middle classes of Karachi to largely withdraw from
6175-698: The greater Defence Housing Authority project. Karachi's city limits also include several islands, including Baba and Bhit Islands , Oyster Rocks, and Manora , a former island which is now connected to the mainland by a thin 12-kilometre long shoal known as Sandspit . Gulistan-e-Johar , Gulshan-e-Iqbal , Federal B. Area , Malir , Landhi and Korangi areas were all developed after 1970. The city has been described as one divided into sections for those able to afford to live in planned localities with access to urban amenities, and those who live in unplanned communities with inadequate access to such services. 35% of Karachi's residents live in unplanned communities. Being
6270-470: The hamlet after fleeing droughts and tribal feuds. A new settlement was built in 1729 at the site of Dibro , which came to be known as Kolachi-jo-Goth ("The village of Kolachi"). The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , a resident of the old settlement whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile. Kolachi was about 40 hectares in size, with some smaller fishing villages scattered in its vicinity. The founders of
6365-452: The larger Kirthar Range , and have a maximum elevation of 528 metres (1,732 feet). Between the hills are wide coastal plains interspersed with dry river beds and water channels. Karachi has developed around the Malir River and Lyari Rivers , with the Lyari shore being the site of the settlement for Kolachi . To the east of Karachi lies the Indus River flood plains. Karachi has a tropical semi arid climate ( Köppen : BSh ), formerly
6460-494: The largest city, Karachi is also Pakistan's financial and commercial capital. Since Pakistan's independence, Karachi has been the centre of the nation's economy, and remain's Pakistan's largest urban economy despite the economic stagnation caused by sociopolitical unrest during the late 1980s and 1990s. The city forms the centre of an economic corridor stretching from Karachi to nearby Hyderabad , and Thatta . As of 2021 , Karachi had an estimated GDP (PPP) of $ 190 billion with
6555-519: The largest wheat-exporting port of the entire British Empire, after large irrigation works in Sindh were initiated to increase wheat and cotton yields. By 1924, the Drigh Road Aerodrome was established, now the Faisal Air Force Base . Karachi's increasing importance as a cosmopolitan transportation hub leads to the influence of non-Sindhis in Sindh's administration. Half the city was born outside of Karachi by as early as 1921. Native Sindhis were upset by this influence, and so on 1 April 1936, Sindh
6650-478: The mid-1960s, Karachi began to attract large numbers of Pashtun , Punjabis and Kashmiris from northern Pakistan. The 1970s saw a construction boom funded by remittances and investments from the Gulf States , and the appearance of apartment buildings in the city. Real-estate prices soared during this period, leading to a worsening housing crisis. The period also saw labour unrest in Karachi's industrial estates beginning in 1970 that were violently repressed by
6745-525: The mouth of Karachi's Malir River , though some believe it was located near Gizri . No other natural harbour exists near the mouth of the Indus that could accommodate a large fleet. Nearchus , who commanded Alexander's naval fleet, also mentioned a hilly island by the name of Morontobara and an adjacent flat island named Bibakta , which colonial historians identified as Karachi's Manora Point and Kiamari (or Clifton ), respectively, based on Greek descriptions. Both areas were island until well into
6840-483: The native elements of the lexicon are related to other Eastern Iranian languages . As noted by Josef Elfenbein, "Loanwords have been traced in Pashto as far back as the third century B.C., and include words from Greek and probably Old Persian". For instance, Georg Morgenstierne notes the Pashto word مېچن mečә́n i.e. a hand-mill as being derived from the Ancient Greek word μηχανή ( mēkhanḗ , i.e.
6935-533: The new commercial district of Saddar . Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, was born in Karachi's Wazir Mansion in 1876 to such migrants from Gujarat . Public building works were undertaken at this time in Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles, including the construction of Frere Hall in 1865 and the later Empress Market in 1889. With the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Karachi's position as
7030-530: The new fortified settlement were Sindhi Baniyas , and are said to have arrived from the nearby town of Kharak Bandar after the harbour there silted in 1728 after heavy rains. Kolachi was fortified, and defended with cannons imported from Muscat, Oman . Under the Talpurs, the Rah-i-Bandar road was built to connect the city's port to the caravan terminals. This road would eventually be further developed by
7125-622: The pioneer in cable networking in Pakistan with the most sophisticated of the cable networks of any city of Pakistan, and has seen an expansion of information and communications technology and electronic media . The city has become a software outsourcing hub for Pakistan. Several independent television and radio stations are based in Karachi, including Business Plus , AAJ News , Geo TV , KTN , Sindh TV , CNBC Pakistan , TV ONE , Express TV , ARY Digital , Indus Television Network, Samaa TV , Abb Takk News , Bol TV , and Dawn News , as well as several local stations. Industry contributes
7220-465: The possessed in the genitive construction, and adjectives come before the nouns they modify. Unlike most other Indo-Iranian languages, Pashto uses all three types of adpositions —prepositions, postpositions, and circumpositions. *The retroflex rhotic or lateral, tends to be a lateral flap [ 𝼈 ] at the beginning of a syllable or other prosodic unit, and a regular flap [ ɽ ] or approximant [ ɻ ] elsewhere. In Pashto, most of
7315-466: The public sphere, and instead form their own social venues that became inaccessible to the poor. This decade also saw an influx of more than one million Bihari immigrants into Karachi from the newly made country Bangladesh which separated from Pakistan in 1971. In 1972, the Karachi district divided into three districts, East , West and South districts. The 1980s and 1990s saw an influx of almost one million Afghan refugees into Karachi fleeing
7410-711: The sea maintains humidity levels at near-constant levels year-round. Thus, the climate is similar to a humid tropical climate, except for the low precipitation and occasional temperatures well over 100 F (38 C) due to the influence of the Thar Desert nearby, close to the border with India. The city's highest annual rainfall was about 750-850 mm, recorded in the late 1970s. The city's highest monthly rainfall, 19 in (480 mm), occurred in July 1967. The city's highest rainfall in 24 hours occurred on 7 August 1953, when about 278.1 millimetres (10.95 in) of rain lashed
7505-473: The sizable communities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia . Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan, along with Dari Persian . Since the early 18th century, the monarchs of Afghanistan have been ethnic Pashtuns (except for Habibullāh Kalakāni in 1929). Persian, the literary language of the royal court, was more widely used in government institutions, while
7600-506: The sprawling district of Orangi . North of the historic core is the largely middle-class district of Nazimabad , and upper-middle-class North Nazimabad , which were developed in the 1950s. To the east of the historic core is the area known as Defence , an expansive upscale suburb developed and administered by the Pakistan Army . Karachi's coastal plains along the Arabian Sea south of Clifton were also developed much later as part of
7695-562: The strategic value of the city, the British developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison in the New Town to aid the British war effort in the First Anglo-Afghan War . The city's development was largely confined to the area north of the Chinna Creek prior to independence, although the seaside area of Clifton was also developed as a posh locale under the British, and its large bungalows and estates remain some of
7790-444: The subject if it is intransitive, but with the object if it is transitive. Verbs are inflected for present, simple past, past progressive, present perfect, and past perfect tenses. There is also an inflection for the subjunctive mood . Nouns and adjectives are inflected for two genders (masculine and feminine), two numbers (singular and plural), and four cases (direct, oblique, ablative, and vocative). The possessor precedes
7885-536: The summer monsoon. On the other hand, cool sea breezes typically provide relief during hot summer months. A text message-based early warning system alerts people to take precautionary measures and helps prevent fatalities during an unusually strong heatwave or thunderstorm. The winter climate is dry and lasts between December and February. It is dry and pleasant in winter relative to the warm hot season that follows, which starts in March and lasts until October. Proximity to
7980-491: The tribes inhabiting the lands west of the Indus River were part of Ariana . This was around the time when the area inhabited by the Pashtuns was governed by the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom . From the 3rd century CE onward, they are mostly referred to by the name Afghan ( Abgan ). Abdul Hai Habibi believed that the earliest modern Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri of the early Ghurid period in
8075-411: The two official languages of Pakistan. Pashto has no official status at the federal level. On a provincial level, Pashto is the regional language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and north Balochistan . Yet, the primary medium of education in government schools in Pakistan is Urdu. The lack of importance given to Pashto and its neglect has caused growing resentment amongst Pashtuns. It is noted that Pashto
8170-540: The value of goods traded through Karachi reached £855,103, leading to the establishment of merchant offices and warehouses. The population in 1856 is estimated to have been 57,000. During the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, the 21st Native Infantry, then stationed in Karachi, mutinied and declared allegiance to rebel forces in September 1857, though the British were able to quickly defeat the rebels and reassert control over
8265-419: The world's 6th-most dangerous city for crime in 2014, to 128th by 2022. Modern Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi-jo-Goth during the rule of Kalhora dynasty . The new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi , whose son is said to have slain a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The name Karachee,
8360-453: Was 20.3 million. Karachi is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and has significant communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan . Karachi holds more than two million Bengali immigrants , a million Afghan refugees , and up to 400,000 Rohingyas from Myanmar . Karachi is now Pakistan's premier industrial and financial centre. The city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $ 190 billion as of 2021 , which
8455-526: Was an estimated 8,000 to 14,000, and was confined to the walled city in Mithadar , with suburbs in what is now the Serai Quarter . British troops, known as the "Company Bahadur" established a camp to the east of the captured city, which became the precursor to the modern Karachi Cantonment . The British further developed the Karachi Cantonment as a military garrison to aid the British war effort in
8550-562: Was established as a province separate from the Bombay Presidency with Karachi was once again made capital of Sindh. In 1941, the population of the city had risen to 387,000. At the dawn of independence following the success of the Pakistan Movement in 1947, On 15 August 1947 Capital of Sindh shifted from Karachi to Hyderabad and Karachi was made the national capital of Pakistan. Karachi was Sindh's largest city with
8645-587: Was later incorporated into the Academy of Sciences Afghanistan in line with Soviet model following the Saur Revolution in 1978. Although officially supporting the use of Pashto, the Afghan elite regarded Persian as a "sophisticated language and a symbol of cultured upbringing". King Zahir Shah (reigning 1933–1973) thus followed suit after his father Nadir Khan had decreed in 1933 that officials were to study and utilize both Persian and Pashto. In 1936
8740-579: Was officially renamed to Dari . The lyrics of the national anthem of Afghanistan are in Pashto. In British India , prior to the creation of Pakistan by the British government, the 1920s saw the blossoming of Pashto language in the then NWFP : Abdul Ghafar Khan in 1921 established the Anjuman-e- Islah al-Afaghina (Society for the Reformation of Afghans) to promote Pashto as an extension of Pashtun culture; around 80,000 people attended
8835-457: Was ordered to leave the city. The city continued to be ruled by the Talpurs until it was occupied by forces under the command of John Keane in February 1839. The British East India Company captured Karachi on 3 February 1839 after HMS Wellesley opened fire and quickly destroyed Manora Fort , which guarded Karachi Harbour at Manora Point . Karachi's population at the time
8930-571: Was regarded as an economic role model around the world, with Seoul , South Korea, borrowing from the city's second "Five-Year Plan". Several examples of Modernist architect were built in Karachi during this period, including the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum, the distinct Masjid-e-Tooba , and the Habib Bank Plaza (the tallest building in all of South Asia at the time). The city's population by 1961 had grown 369% compared to 1941. By
9025-419: Was the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi in 1941, but only 8.5% in 1951, while Urdu grew to become the mother tongue of 51% of Karachi's population. 100,000 Muhajir refugees arrived annually in Karachi until 1952. Muhajirs kept arriving from different parts of India till 2000. Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan, and was administered as a federal district separate from Sindh beginning in 1948,
#661338