View source for Federal Capital Territory (Pakistan)

{{Short description|Former capital territory of Pakistan}}
{{About|the former Federal Capital Territory of Pakistan|other uses|Federal Capital Territory (disambiguation)}} 
{{distinguish|Islamabad Capital Territory}}
{{Infobox former subdivision
| common_name            = Federal Capital Territory
| conventional_long_name = Federal Capital Territory
| native_name            = 
| subdivision            = [[Former administrative units of Pakistan|Former Territory]] 
| p1                     = Sind Province (1936–55){{!}}Sind Province
| flag_p1                = British Raj Red Ensign.svg
| s1                     = West Pakistan
| flag_s1                = Flag of Pakistan.svg
| nation                 = Pakistan
| today                  = {{•}}[[Sindh]]<br>[[Pakistan]]
| image_flag             = Flag of Pakistan.svg
| image_map              = FCT Pakistan map.gif
| image_map_caption      = Map of Pakistan with the FCT highlighted
| capital                = Karachi
| stat_year1             = 
| stat_area1             = 2103
| date                   = 1948
| event                  = 
| year_end               = 1959
| event_end              = Capital moved to [[Rawalpindi]]. ''Federal Capital Territory'' merged into [[West Pakistan]]
| footnotes              = 
| event_start            = [[Karachi]] established as capital of [[Dominion of Pakistan]]
| year_start             = 1948
}}
{{Former administrative units of Pakistan}}
{{History of Karachi}}
The '''Federal Capital Territory''' ('''FCT''') around [[Karachi]] was the original [[capital territory]] of [[Pakistan]]. The FCT was created in 1948 from the city of Karachi and surrounding areas as the location for Pakistan's capital following its creation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kmc.gos.pk/contents.aspx?id=14|title=About Karachi|website=www.kmc.gos.pk|access-date=2023-01-15|archive-date=2016-06-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623150042/http://www.kmc.gos.pk/Contents.aspx?id=14|url-status=dead}}</ref> This move, however, was controversial as the territory was created despite resistance from the local groups in [[Sindh]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Suhail |first1=Adeem |last2=Lutfi |first2=Ameem |title=Our City, Your Crisis: The Baloch of Karachi and the Partition of British India |journal=South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies |date=October 2016 |volume=39 |issue=4 |page=895 |doi=10.1080/00856401.2016.1230966 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2016.1230966 |language=en |issn=0085-6401 |quote=Most signiﬁcantly, the government of Pakistan declared Karachi a federally administered zone despite resistance from the local political classes in Sindh.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The FCT was bordered by the province of [[Sindh]] to the northeast and the [[princely state]] of [[State of Las Bela|Las Bela]] to the northwest with the [[Arabian Sea]] to the south.

==History==
[[Karachi]] became the first capital of the new country of Pakistan in 1947. The FCT was created in 1948 to enable the federal government to operate from a nationally-held territory. At that time it had a population of 400,000 people which began to increase rapidly because of the political focus on the city and the fact that it was the major commercial seaport for western Pakistan. When the territory was absorbed into the province of [[West Pakistan]], the [[city]] had a population of about 1.9 million.

The main ethnic groups in this region before the [[partition of the Indian subcontinent]] consisted of several small linguistic and [[Religious organization|religious groups]] such as Sindhi Hindus, Sindhi Muslims , Baloch Makranis,[[Gujarati people|Gujarati]] communities, which included [[Parsis]], [[Hindus]], [[Sunni Muslims]], [[Ismaili Muslims]], [[Daudi Bohras]], [[Marwari Muslims]], Kacchi Muslims, and a large number of local [[Christianity in Pakistan|Christian]] communities. A considerable number of [[Sindhis]] and [[Balochs]] resided in sporadic villages in this region.The majority spoken language was [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]] spoken by 52% of population as per 1946 census.However, all of these communities were collectively and simultaneously outnumbered by the inflow of Muslim [[Muhajir (Pakistan)|Muhajir]] who started settling in Karachi because it was the federal capital as well as the largest [[commercial hub]]; and somewhat due to Hindu communities' migration from this region to India, resulting in dramatic and demographic changes in this area.

==Geography and climate==
The Federal Capital Territory occupied 2,103&nbsp;km² compared to the current City-District of Karachi which occupies 3,527&nbsp;km². Apart from Karachi City, the Federal Capital Territory also contained several small villages and towns which have now been subsumed in the metropolitan area of Karachi. The territory covered rolling plains bound by hills to the north and west, the river [[Indus]] to the east, and the [[Arabian Sea]] to the south. Several smaller rivers flowed through the heart of the territory including the river [[Malir River|Malir]] and the river [[Lyari River|Layari]]. The [[Port of Karachi]] was located in a protected bay to the southwest of the city, protected by several small islands. The climate of the territory was moderated by the influence of the sea with relatively mild winters and warm summers. There was low [[Precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] and high [[humidity]] for much of the year except during the short [[monsoon]] rains.

==Economy and transport==
Karachi was, and still is, the financial capital of Pakistan, accounting for the largest share of the nation's [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] and generating the largest share of the national revenue. The [[State Bank of Pakistan]] and most commercial banks had their headquarters in Karachi together with Pakistan's first and largest [[stock exchange]] - the [[Karachi Stock Exchange|KSE]] now [[Pakistan Stock Exchange|PSX]].

The FCT was served by the old [[Jinnah International Airport|Quaid-e-Azam International Airport]] (now Jinnah International Airport) terminal which is now used for [[Hajj]] flights and cargo facilities. In addition, there was an airport at Mauripur which is now the Masroor [[Pakistan Air Force]] base. In 1947, Karachi had the only major port in western Pakistan while [[Chittagong]] was the main port for eastern Pakistan. The city was linked to the rest of West Pakistan by railway with the main stations at Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Station.

==See also==
*[[Karachi]]
*[[Islamabad Capital Territory]]
*[[East Pakistan]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.karachicity.gov.pk The City-District Government of Karachi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020325142014/http://www.karachicity.gov.pk/ |date=2002-03-25 }}

{{coord missing|Karachi}}

[[Category:Former subdivisions of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Karachi]]
[[Category:Capital districts and territories]]
[[Category:States and territories of Pakistan]]