It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research.

In line with its status as a major port and the country's largest metropolis, it accounts for a lion's share of Pakistan's revenue.

The Karachi Stock Exchange is the largest stock exchange in Pakistan, and is considered by many economists to be one of the prime reasons for Pakistan's 8 % GDP growth across 2005.

About 57 % of Pakistan's total land area is under cultivation and is watered by one of the largest irrigation systems in the world.

During the Soviet-Afghan War, the accommodation of Afghan refugees into Pakistan was controlled in Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, under General Rahimuddin Khan, by making the refugees stay for controlled durations in barbed wire camps ( see Controlling Soviet-Afghan War Refugees ).

Although the refugees were controlled within Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan under then-martial law ruler General Rahimuddin Khan, the influx of so many refugees – believed to be the largest refugee population in the world – spread into several other regions.

Port of Karachi, Pakistan's largest port

* 2008 Mumbai attacks: Following ten coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across Mumbai, India's largest city, tensions heightened between the two countries since India claimed interrogation results alleging Pakistan's ISI supporting the attackers while Pakistan denied it.

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and the country's economic hub ; the Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar Road of the city, often called the " Wall Street of Pakistan ," acts as Karachi's main financial district and is essentially a center of economic and industrial activity.

Pakistan's largest intelligence agency ( the ISI ), which began with the birth of the nation, has been heavily involved in the affairs of Afghanistan since the late 1970s.

One of the two major air force bases in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, is named " PAF Base Faisal " in honour of King Faisal.

At present, hand-knotted carpets are among Pakistan's leading export products and their manufacture is the second largest cottage and small industry.

The 7-year longest-serving Governor and martial law administrator of Pakistan's largest province, Balochistan, General Rahimuddin Khan, was born in the predominantly Pathan city of Kaimganj, which now lies in Uttar Pradesh.

Municipal political conflict in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, often pitted native Sindhis against immigrants.

Over 12, 000 tons of oil spilled into the Arabian Sea in what is considered by some to be the largest environmental disaster in Pakistan's history.

India had its largest haul of Pakistani tanks when the offensive of Pakistan's 1st Armoured Division was blunted at the Battle of Asal Uttar, which took place on 10 September near Khemkaran.

After Karachi, Sialkot is Pakistan's second largest source of foreign exchange earnings through its exports and remittances from the overseas manpower.

While Bhutto remains a contentious figure in Pakistan's history, his party, the PPP, remains Pakistan's largest national political party, his daughter Benazir Bhutto twice served as Prime Minister, and his son-in-law and Benazir's husband, Asif Ali Zardari, is the current President.

Affiliated with the Socialist International, it is one of Pakistan's largest political parties.

It is Pakistan's third largest city by area and its fifth largest by population.

* 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launches an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

While the city is being developed, it is the scene of occasional deadly suicide bombings and explosions carried out by the Haqqani network, Taliban's Quetta Shura, Hezb-i Islami, al-Qaeda, and other anti-government elements who are allegedly supported and guided by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence ( ISI ) spy network.

It is locally known as the " City of Lights " () and " The bride of the cities " () for its liveliness, and the " City of the Quaid " (), having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam, the Great Leader, ( Muhammad Ali Jinnah ), the founder of Pakistan, who made the city his home after Pakistan's independence from the British Raj on 14 August 1947.

It was this capture of Mazar, the last major city in Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban, that prompted Pakistan's recognition of the Taliban regime.

After Pakistan's creation, the province lost the city of Karachi, as it became the capital of the newly created country.

Known as the Fruit Garden of Balochistan due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is situated at an average elevation of 1, 680 meters ( 5, 500 ft ) above sea level, making it Pakistan's only high-altitude major city.

Pakistani-born Mahmood stated that he was " flabbergasted and shocked " after he learned that bin Laden was living in a city with thousands of Pakistani troops, reviving questions about alleged links between al-Qaeda and elements in Pakistan's security forces.

While the city is being developed, it is also the scene of occasional deadly suicide bombings and explosions carried out by the Haqqani network, Taliban's Quetta Shura, Hezb-i Islami, Al Qaeda, and other anti-government elements who are allegedly supported and guided by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence ( ISI ) spy network.

When the Pakistani establishment failed to gain the control of Karachi via this planted group, it began an operation against MQM and accused MQM of the widespread political violence that affected Pakistan's southern Sindh province, particularly Karachi, the port city that is the country's commercial capital.

The city of Karachi, the hub of Pakistan's maritime trade, housed the combatant headquarters of the Pakistan Navy and almost the entire naval fleet.

Husain gained her first experience of journalism at the age of 18, spending three months as a city reporter in Islamabad at Pakistan's leading English-language newspaper The News.

Operation Trident and its follow-up Operation Python were naval offensive operations launched on Pakistan's port city of Karachi by the Indian Navy during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Many countries sought to emulate Pakistan's economic planning strategy and one of them, South Korea, copied the city's second " Five-Year Plan " and world Financial Centre in Seoul is designed and modeled after Karachi.

Karachi is the nerve center of Pakistan's economy.

Karachi is home to some of Pakistan's important cultural institutions.

According to the report, Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency rushed Omar to a hospital near Karachi where he was operated on, treated, and then released several days later.

Pashto music is commonly found in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in Pakistan's major urban centres such as Karachi, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sialkot and Multan, genres include Tappa, Charbeta, Neemkai, Loba, Shaan and Badala.

Persian is spoken mainly in the North West of Pakistan but there are also considerable Persian speaking inhabitants in Pakistan's major urban centres of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

In October 2004, he took 10 wickets against Sri Lanka at Karachi, with a second-innings haul of 7 / 109, setting up Pakistan's 6-wicket win.

Pakistan's first home Test match was in Dacca in January 1955 against India, after which four more Test matches were played in Bahawalpur, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi ( all five matches in the series were drawn, the first such occurrence in test history ).

Many Khowar speakers have migrated and set up colonies in Pakistan's urban centres such as in Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Dards have also migrated heavily and set up colonies in several of Pakistan's major urban centres such as Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Nearing the Karachi port, they detected Pakistan's naval presence and launched their SS-N-2 Styx anti-ship missiles.

In addition, smaller populations also exist in Ladakh, a region of Jammu & Kashmir, India ; others are scattered in Pakistan's major urban centres of Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad / Rawalpindi.

Karachi Uncovered BBC Scottish Actor Atta Yaqub investigates Pakistan's media boom