Muzaffarabad

Muzaffarabad (Pahari: مُظفٌر آباد) is the capital of Azad Kashmir. It is located in Muzaffarabad District on the banks of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The district is bounded by North-West Frontier Province in the west, by the Kupwara and Baramulla districts of on the Indian side of the Line of Control in the east, and the Neelum District of Azad Kashmir in the north. The population of the district, according to the 1998 Census, was 725,000, and according to a 1999 projection, the population had risen to almost 741,000. The district comprises three tehsils, and the city of Muzaffarabad serves as the capital of Azad Kashmir.

 Muzaffarabad is situated at the confluence of the Jhelum and Neelum rivers. The city is 138 kilometres from Rawalpindi and Islamabad and about 76 kilometres from Abbottabad. Cradled by lofty mountains, Muzaffarabad reflects a blend of various cultures and languages. The main language is a form of Hindko. The Neelum river plays a dominant role in the microclimate of Muzaffarabad which joins Jehlum river near Domail.

 The name "Muzaffarabad" (meaning Muzaffar's Town) comes from the name of Sultan Raja Muzaffar Khan (popular muslim ruler of khandan-e-Bomba ) After the 1948-49 war, Muzaffarabad was made the capital of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir.                                                                

   On October 8, 2005, the city was struck by an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter Scale.                                                          

   Situated at the confluence of the Jhelum and the Neelum rivers Muzaffarabad the capital of the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir is at a distance of 138 km from Rawalpindi and 79 km from Abbottabad. Surrounded by mountains, it looks like a walled town. It is the administrative capital of Azad Kashmir. Behind the Secretariat to the east is a road climbing above the town from where one can walk upto Pir Chinasi at 2,900 meters with good views of the Jhelum Valley and the higher mountains above the Neelum to the north. From the cool on the Abbottabad Road, you can walk along the ridge looking over the Jhelum and Kunhar rivers.                                                        

  The upper Jhelum valley makes another interesting scenic excursion from Muzaffarabad. Follow the Jhelum upstream, taking the road beneath the Domel bridge. This was the old route to Srinagar. The valley is broad with raised terraces above the river. Rice and maize are widely grown. Some 10 kms out of Muzaffarabad, the river widens to from a small lake. This was created by a landslide some years ago. There is a small Angler's Hut here, which makes a pleasant picnic spot. It is possible to take boats out on the river. Book through the Tourism Department in Muzaffarabad.

The city is now a combination of old and new buildings and a blend of different cultures and languages. It has besides official buildings, farms, parks and the historic forts standing on the banks of the Neelum, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Rawlakot and Kotli are connected with Pakistan by the Micro-weave system of telephone.                                        

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the financial capital of Pakistan, and the capital of the province of Sindh. With a city population of 15.5 million, Karachi is one of the world's largest cities,13th largest urban agglomeration and the 20th largest metropolitan area in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of banking, industry, and trade. Karachi is home to Pakistan's largest corporations, including those that are involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry, entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider Islamic world. Karachi is ranked as a Beta world city.

Karachi enjoys its prominent position because of its geographical location on a bay, making it the financial capital of the country. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It was the original capital of Pakistan until the construction of Islamabad and is the location of the Port of Karachi and Port Bin Qasim , one of the region's largest and busiest ports. After the partition of India and the independence of Pakistan, the city's population increased dramatically when hundreds of thousands of migrants from India, East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and other parts of South Asia came to settle in the city.    

 Karachi city is spread over 3,530 km2 (1,360 sq mi) in area, almost five times bigger than Singapore. It is locally known as the "City of Lights" (روشنیوں  کا  شهر) and "The bride of the cities" (عروس  البلاد) for its liveliness, and the "City of the Quaid " (شهرِ  قائد), having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam (Muhammad Ali Jinnah), the founder of Pakistan, who made the city his home after Pakistan's independence.

The area of Karachi was known to the ancient Greeks by many names: Krokola, the place where Alexander the Great camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia after his campaign in the Indus Valley; 'Morontobara' (probably Manora island near Karachi harbour), from whence Alexander's admiral Nearchus set sail; and Barbarikon, a port of the Indo-Greek Bactrian kingdom. It was later known to the Arabs as Debal, the starting point for Muhammad bin Qasim and his army in 712 AD.                                                   

ocated on the coast, Karachi tends to have a relatively mild, arid climate with low average precipitation levels (approximately 250 mm per annum), the bulk of which occurs during the July-August monsoon season. Winters are mild and the summers are hot; the proximity to the sea maintains humidity levels at a near-constant high and cool sea breezes relieve the heat of the summer months. Because of high temperatures during the summer (ranging from 30 to 44 degrees Celsius from April to August), the winter months (November to February) are generally considered the best times to visit Karachi. December and January have pleasant and cloudy weather.                                                     

                                                                                  

Quetta

Quetta is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. It is known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan", due to its diversity in plant and animals wildlife.

The city has been a major stronghold along the western frontier of the country. It is situated at an average elevation of 1,654 metres (5,429 feet) metres above sea level.The city is also home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, a national park containing some of the rarest species of wildlife in the world. The city is also home to the research institute, Geological Survey of Pakistan.

Quetta sits near the Durand Line border with Afganistan which makes the city an important marketing and communications centre for Pakistan with the neighbouring country.

Quetta is also spelled Kuwatah which is a variation of Kuatta, a Pashto word meaning "fort".It is believed the city received its name due to imposing hills on all sides of the city. The hills which act as a natural fort are called Chiltan, Takatu, Mehrdar.

Multan

Tradition has it that when Adam was turned out of the garden of Eden, Multan is the place where satan landed. But, for millions of Pakistanis it is a city of saints and mystics. Whatever the truth Multan is probably the oldest living city in South Asia.

 It is claimed that Rig Veda was written in Multan, its architects devised the perfect arch in buildings and wrote the first book on architecture. Alexander the Great in 326 B.C destroyed the stronghold of Malavas or Mali and it is presumed that this stronghold was at Multan or near it.                  

  Multan remained culturally more under the Arabs and central Asian influence than that of the Indians. Handicrafts famous from Multan are: hand painted pottery, fine handloom materials, gold & silver jewelry, exquisite embroidery-work, fine “chicken-kari”, gota.                       

Peshawar

There are very few ancient cities in the subcontinent which inspite of  the great stresses and strains have retained their old complexion, and Peshawar is one of them. A walk through the old city's blind alleys will help you appreciate how Peshawar has retained its centuries old grandeur and complexion. The ramparts though in dilapidated state and the various Darwazas(gates) still exist to tell a story of the good old days.

A town set in the rugged splendour of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, it is undoubtedly a true metropolis of the Orient.

 It has till today preserved its traditional flavour and retained the air of Arabian Nights without remaining indifferent to the demands of modern development.                                                   

Faislabad

The city was founded by the British in 1892 by Sir Charles James Lyall for whom it was originally named Lyallpur (Lieutenant Governor of Punjab (1887-1892) in acknowledgement of his contributions in the process of colonization of the area).

                                                 

Faisalabad is the third largest city in Pakistan. It has an estimated population of almost 2 million citizens. It is an important center for transport and production and is located in the Punjab province. Faisalabad is west of Lahore.

In 1977 the name of the city was changed to Faisalabad in honor of King Faisal of Saudi Arabia who had been assassinated.

                                                        

Islamabad

Islamabad is beautiful. It is a region-wide symbol of progress, innovation and architectural marvel

Settlement in Islamabad, the new capital after Karachi, began in the 1960s. As the city was newly founded, the growth of the population was slow. Being the seat of the Government of Pakistan, initially government servants and employees of the federal administration settled here. Since then, there has been a steady growth in the population of the city, which has swelled to somewhere in excess of a million inhabitants