Religion in Karachi

Pakistan is overwhelmingly Muslim but Christians and Hindus make up the largest minority groups, with each representing about 1.6% of the population. The southern metropolis of Karachi has a large Christian population, as do the cities of Lahore and Faisalabad.

Next to the Roman Catholic church, the Church of Pakistan is the largest Christian body in a country that is 97 percent Muslim. Christian missions in what is now Pakistan originated in the 16th century, proselytizing among Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims.

Religious discrimination in Pakistan is a serious issue for the human rights situation in modern-day Pakistan. Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Shias and Ahmadis among other religious minorities often face discrimination and at times are even subjected to violence.

About 65 percent of Pakistan’s total land consists of desert, mountains and urban areas. These areas include about 52.3 million hectares of rangeland (Ahmed 2016) and 35,872 square kilometers of urban land (World Bank 2016b).

The Thar Desert, which spreads from Pakistan into India, is the world’s 18th largest desert. In Pakistan, the desert extends over southeastern part of Punjab, and eastern part of Sindh. Towards the south of the desert is a salt marsh known as Rann of Kutch. The Indus river flows to the west of the desert.

Karachi has a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh) dominated by a long “Summer Season” while moderated by oceanic influence from the Arabian Sea.

But catastrophe struck around 100,000 years ago when rainfall declined sharply and the already sluggish river system began shifting westward. Strong winds lifted sand and silt particles from alluvial sediments and deposited them in the region, and the true desert began to form.

Thar region of Rajasthan is the biggest wool-producing area in India. Chokla, Marwari, Jaisalmeri, Magra, Malpuri, Sonadi, Nali, and Pungal breeds of sheep are found in the region. Of the total wool production in India, 40-50% comes from Rajasthan.