KARACHI |
LAHORE |
FAISALABAD |
RAWALPINDI |
HADERABAD |
MULTAN |
PAESHAWAR
|
ISLAMABAD |
SIALKOT |
GUJRAT |
JHANG
|
SARGODHA |
QUETTA
|
MARDAN
|
GUJRANWALA
|
SUKHUR
|
BAHAWALPUR
|
|
|
Karachi, city in southern Pakistan, capital of Sind Province, on the Arabian
Sea at the north-western edge of the Indus River delta. The hub of a sprawling
metropolitan area, Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and its
transport, financial, commercial, and manufacturing centre. Most of the
international trade of Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan pass through the
city's busy modern port, centred on the island of Kiamari. Major railways and roads lead to the city, and the modern airport
here is a stopover and refuelling point for intercontinental flights. Among the
many products of Karachi are steel, textiles, chemicals,
refined petroleum, footwear, machinery, and processed food. The city also is an
important banking centre with its own stock exchange. The University of Karachi (1951) and NED University of Engineering and Technology (1922) are
here. The tomb of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, is a landmark.
An ancient settlement, Karachi was a small fishing and trade centre when captured by the British in
1839 and annexed three years later. Under British rule, it became the chief
outlet for Indus Valley cotton and grain exports. After Pakistan became
independent in 1947, Karachi was the new country's capital until it
was replaced by Rawalpindi in 1959. During the early years of independence it grew rapidly as the
chief port and industrial centre of West Pakistan, and many Muslim refugees
from India settled here. Since the 1980s the city has been the site of violent
eruptions between rival political, religious, and ethnic groups. By the
mid-1990s more than 2,000 deaths were attributed to the violence, including two
United States diplomats murdered in March 1995. Population (1981) 5,180,562.
Lahore, city in
north-east Pakistan,
capital of Punjab Province, on the Ravi River. It is the commercial and banking centre of the province.
Although little industry is located in the city itself, Lahore serves as a
distribution centre for the heavily industrialized surrounding area. Factories
produce textiles, metal products, chemicals, machinery, glassware, and leather
goods. The city is also the site of the University of the Punjab (1882, the
oldest university in Pakistan), and the University of Engineering and
Technology (1961). An atomic energy research centre is located in the city.
Lahore is the site of numerous architecturally significant buildings and
monuments, many dating from the Mughal Empire (c. 1526-1707), during which the
city achieved great prominence. In 1849 Lahore fell to the British. When India
was partitioned in 1947, Lahore was made capital of West Punjab. Population (1981)
2,952,689.
Faisalabad, formerly Lyallpur, city in north-east Pakistan, in the Rechna Doab region of the
Punjab. A rail and road junction, the city lies in an area watered by the Lower
Chenab Canal: cotton, wheat, vegetables, and fruit are all grown in the region.
It is an industrial centre, having railway-repair shops, engineering works; and
plants that mill cotton, sugar, flour, and oilseed, can fruit, and pack tea.
Goods manufactured here include superphosphates, cotton and silk textiles,
hosiery, dyes, agricultural equipment, and ghee. Faisalabad is the site of the University of
Agriculture (1909). The city was founded in the 1890s by Sir Charles James
Lyall, chief commissioner of the central provinces. Population (1981)
1,104,209.
Rawalpindi, city in northern Pakistan, Punjab Province. The city is an industrial and military centre with a
petroleum refinery, an ordnance factory, an arsenal, engineering workshops, a
steel-rolling mill, gasworks, and a brewery. A college of technology is here. Rawalpindi served as the provisional capital of Pakistan from 1959 to
1967, when the seat of government was transferred to the permanent capital,
nearby Islamabad. Population (1981) 928,000.
Hyderabad (Pakistan), city in south-east Pakistan, in Sind Province on the River Indus. It is an important commercial centre for
the millet, rice, wheat, cotton, and fruit grown in the surrounding region.
Industries include tanneries; film studios; and cement, metal, and glassworks.
Embroideries, lacquerware, fine textiles, and jewellery are also made in Hyderabad. The University of Sind, a medical
school, and commercial and agricultural colleges are in the area. Hyderabad was founded in 1768 and remained the
capital of the emirate of Sind until the British general Sir Charles Napier
conquered Sind in 1843. From 1947 to 1955 Hyderabad was the capital of Sind Province. Population (1981) 795,000.
Multan, city in eastern Pakistan, capital of Multan Division, on the Chenab River in the Punjab. The leading manufactured goods are silk, cotton, carpets, glazed
pottery, and enamel work. Multan is an important centre
of trade where the products of the region, chiefly cotton, wheat, wool, sugar,
indigo, and oil seed, are carried by rail to other parts of the country. It is
the home of Bahauddin Zakariya University (1975). The city owes its name to an
ancient idol in a pre-Muslim shrine dedicated to the sun god: Multan is one of the oldest cities on the Indian subcontinent. Population
(1981) 730,000.
Peshawar, city in north-west Pakistan, capital of North-West Frontier Province, near the entrance to the Khyber Pass. The city is a commercial centre and the traditional terminus of
caravans from Afghanistan. Industries include local crafts and the manufacture
of processed food, footwear, silk, and cotton textiles. Peshawar University was established here in 1950. Also in the city is Peshawar Museum, which houses important collections of sculpture of the
ancient Gandhara civilization.
An ancient trading settlement known as Purushapure,
the city was a target for invaders of the Indian subcontinent thanks to its
strategic location near the pass. In the early 19th century Peshawar came under the control of the Sikhs, and in 1849 it was captured by
the British. It has been the capital of the Pakistani North-West Frontier
Province (except during 1955-1970) since 1947. Population (1981) 555,000.
Islamabad, capital city of Pakistan, northern Pakistan, in the Capital Territory on the Potwar Plateau,
near Rawalpindi. In 1959 the site of Islamabad was chosen to replace Karachi as the capital of Pakistan. Constantinos A. Doxiadis and other
internationally known urban planners were commissioned to design the new city,
and construction began in 1961. In 1967 Islamabad was officially made the capital, and
work on the city's principal buildings, streets, and facilities was completed
by the mid-1970s. The city is divided into eight largely self-contained zones,
each characterized by its predominant usages (such as for government, commerce,
light industry, or residential areas). Notable structures in Islamabad
include the National Assembly Building, designed by Louis
I. Kahn, and Pakistan House, the home of the
President. The city is the site of Quaid-i-Azam University (1965). Population
(1981) 201,000.
Sialkot, city in north-east Pakistan, in Punjab Province. The city is a rail junction, and a major trade and
processing centre. A variety of products, including bicycles, surgical
instruments, and sporting goods, are produced here. Historical features here
include the shrine of Guru Nanak, founder of the Sikh religion, and a
12th-century fort. Population (1981) 302,009.
Gujrat, city in eastern
Pakistan, in Punjab Province. It is situated 109 km (68 mi)
from Lahore,
between the rivers Chenab
and Jhelum. Gujrat is a trading centre for local agricultural produce (primarily
grain and cotton), while its manufacturing industries include ceramics,
footwear, textiles, furniture, and copper and brass products.
The present city was founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar in 1580; it developed around a fort established to guard the imperial
highway. In February 1849 it was the scene of an important battle, in which
British-Indian forces led by Hugh Gough decisively defeated the Sikh army, and
established British ascendancy in the Punjab region. The Shah Janangir cemetery commemorates those who lost their
lives in the battle. In nearby Mung, archaeologists have identified the ancient
city of Alexandria Nicaea, established by Alexander
the Great in 326 BC
on the site of his victory over the Indian ruler Porus. Population (1981) 154,000.
Jhang Maghiana or Jhang Sadar
Jhang Maghiana
or Jhang Sadar, city in east-central Pakistan, capital of Jhang Maghiana
district, in Punjab
province. The city is located to the east of the River Chenab, 190 km (120 mi) west of Lahore, and is a trade centre for grain and cloth. Jhang Maghiana’s industries
include soap manufacture, hand-weaving, leatherworking, locksmithing, and
brasswork. It originally consisted of two towns, Jhang and Maghiana, which
together became a municipality in 1867; the city is sometimes also called
Jhang. Maghiana was originally founded in the 15th century, pre-dating the Mughal era. It was rebuilt in 1688 after floods
caused extensive damage. There is a government college affiliated with the
University of Punjab. Jhang Maghiana was the birthplace of Abdus Salam, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1979. Population
(1981) 195,000.
Sargodha,
city in north-east Pakistan,
Punjab Province, on a branch of the Lower Jhelum Canal. The city is a rail
junction and trade centre for an irrigated area producing cereals, cotton,
citrus fruit, and oilseed. Industries include engineering plants, a steel mill,
and cotton, rice, flour, and oilseed mills. As headquarters of the canal
colony, the city developed rapidly in the early 20th century. Population (1981)
291,361.
Quetta (also Kwatah),
city in western Pakistan,
capital of Baluchistan Province. It is an important trade centre, with
industries that include fruit canning and chromite mining. In 1876 the British
acquired Quetta by treaty with the Khan of Kalat. The city was capital of the
British province of Balochistan until that province became part of Pakistan in
1947. Population
(1981) 285,719.
Mardan, town in north Pakistan, in the Peshawar Basin, on a branch of the Swat Canal
near Peshawar. A road junction on a spur of the
railway system, the town has one of the largest sugar mills in Asia and also
has textile-weaving and sawmilling industries. It is the market centre of a
region in which wheat, sugar cane, barley, and corn are grown; sugar beet has
also been been introduced. The Rock of Shahbazgarhi, with one of the inscriptions of Ashoka, a king of the 3rd century BC,
is nearby. Population (1981) 147,977.
Gujranwala, city in north-east Pakistan, in Punjab Province near Lahore. A commercial centre, the city trades in
oilseed, oranges, rice, sugar, and wheat. Gujranwala was once the centre of Sikh power, and it was the birthplace of Ranjit Singh, who was founder of the Sikh
Kingdom. His mausoleum is here. Population (1981) 658,753.
Sukhur, city in
south-east Pakistan,
in Sind Province, on the River Indus. The city is located on a road and railway that cross the river here. Industries
include cotton ginning, silk and food processing, rice and flour milling,
textile dyeing, metalworking, boatbuilding, tanning, tobacco processing, shad
fishing, and the manufacture of chemicals, cement, confectionery, tiles,
hosiery, and playing cards. Sukhur is the site of a technical school and of the
Sukhur Industrial Trading Estate, which supplies local raw materials to
factories. To the south is Sukhur Barrage (about 1,525 m/5,000 ft long), one of
the world's largest dams, built between 1923 and 1932. From it radiate seven
canals, irrigating a region where wheat, rice, millet, and oilseed are grown. The
city was under British rule from 1842 to 1947. Population (1981) 190,551.
Bahawalpur (also known as Bhawalpur), city in eastern Pakistan, in Punjab
Province, near the Sutlej
River. The city is located favourably for commerce, lying at the junction of
trade routes from the east, south-east, and south. It is a centre for trade in
wheat, cotton, millet, and rice grown in the surrounding region. Dates and
mangoes are also grown here. Canals supply water for irrigation. The principal
industries are cotton ginning, rice and flour milling, and the handweaving of
textiles. Islamia University (1975) is in Bahawalpur.
Population
(1981) 180,263.