History of Karachi - Post 1970s (1980-Present)

Post 1970s (1980-Present)

The 1980s and 90’s also saw an influx of illegal Afghan refugees from the Afghan war into Karachi,and the city now also called, a "city of illegal refugees". Political tensions between the Indian refugees groups (descendants of migrants from the partition era and in 1960s Economic migration) and other groups also erupted and the city was wracked with political violence. The period from 1992 to 1994 is regarded as the bloodiest period in the history of the city, when the Army commenced its Operation Clean-up against the Mohajir Qaumi Movement.

Since the last couple of years however, most of these tensions have largely been quieted. Karachi continues to be an important financial and industrial centre for the Sindh and handles most of the overseas trade of Pakistan and the Central Asian countries. It accounts for a large portion of the GDP of Sindh, Pakistan and a large chunk of the country's white collar workers. Karachi's population has continued to grow and is estimated to have exceeded 10 million people. Currently, Karachi is a melting pot where people from all the different parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran and India. The Sindh government is undertaking a massive upgrading of the city’s infrastructure which promises to again put this heart of Sindh city of Karachi into the lineup of one of the world’s greatest metropolitan cities.

The last census was held on 1998, the current estimated Population ratio of 2012 is :

Urdu: 41.52% Pashto: 18.96% Punjabi: 15.64% Sindhi: 10.34% Balochi: 06.34% Saraiki: 04.11% Others: 03.09%. The others include Gujarati, Dawoodi Bohra, Memon, Brahui, Makrani, Khowar, Burushaski, Arabic, Persian and Bengali.