1.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
2.
Guantanamo Bay detention camp
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The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Guantánamo or GTMO, which fronts on Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. Since the inmates have been detained indefinitely without trial and several inmates were severely tortured, the camp was established by the President George W. Bushs administration in 2002 during the War on Terror. During his term, his administration succeeded in reducing the number of inmates from about 245 to 41, in practice, the site has long been used for indefinite detention without trial. The facility is operated by the Joint Task Force Guantanamo of the United States government in Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Detention areas consisted of Camp Delta including Camp Echo, Camp Iguana, and Camp X-Ray, which is now closed. The Bush administration asserted that detainees were not entitled to any of the protections of the Geneva Conventions. Following this, on 7 July 2006, the Department of Defense issued a memo stating that detainees would, in the future. Current and former detainees have reported abuse and torture, which the Bush administration denied, in a 2005 Amnesty International report, the facility was called the Gulag of our times. In 2006, the United Nations called unsuccessfully for the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be closed, on 22 January 2009, President Obama issued a request to suspend proceedings at Guantanamo military commission for 120 days and to shut down the detention facility that year. President Obama issued a Presidential memorandum dated 15 December 2009, ordering Thomson Correctional Center, Thomson, in February 2011, U. S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that Guantanamo Bay was unlikely to be closed, due to opposition in the Congress. Congress particularly opposed moving prisoners to facilities in the United States for detention or trial, in April 2011, Wikileaks began publishing 779 secret files relating to prisoners in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. On 4 November 2015, President Barack Obama stated that he was preparing to unveil a plan to close the facility, the plan would propose one or more prisons from a working list that includes facilities in Kansas, Colorado and South Carolina. Two others that were on the list, in California and Washington state, do not appear to have made the preliminary cut, by January 19,2017, however, the detention center remained open, with 41 detainees remaining. Camp Delta is a 612-unit detention center finished in April 2002 and it includes detention camps 1 through to 6, as well as Camp Echo, where pre-commissions are held. Camp X-Ray was a detention facility, which was closed in April 2002. Its prisoners were transferred to Camp Delta, in 2008, the Associated Press reported Camp 7, a separate facility on the naval base that is considered the highest security jail on the base, and its location is classified. It is used to house high-security detainees formerly held by the CIA, in January 2010, Scott Horton published an article in Harpers Magazine describing Camp No, a black site about a mile outside the main camp perimeter, which included an interrogation center. His description was based on accounts by four guards who had served at Guantanamo and they said prisoners were taken one at a time to the camp, where they were believed to be interrogated. He believes that the three detainees that DoD announced as having committed suicide were questioned under torture the night of their deaths
3.
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
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The base is on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is the oldest overseas U. S. Naval Base, since 2002, the naval base has contained a military prison, the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, for unlawful combatants captured in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other places during the War on Terror. Cases of torture of prisoners, and their denial of protection under the Geneva Conventions, have been condemned internationally. S. Coast Guard Aviation Detachment Guantanamo Bay U. S. GTMO-5, GTMO-6 and GTMO-7, besides servicemen, the base houses a large number of civilian contractors working for the military. These contractors are largely imported from Jamaica and Philippines, and are thought to constitute up to 40% of the bases population, on 30 April 1494, Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage, arrived and spent the night. The place where Columbus landed is now known as Fishermans Point, Columbus declared the bay Puerto Grande. The bay and surrounding areas came under British control during the War of Jenkins Ear, prior to British occupation, the bay was referred to as Walthenham Harbor. The British renamed the bay Cumberland Bay, the British retreated from the area after a failed attempt to march to Santiago de Cuba. During the Spanish–American War, the U. S. fleet attacking Santiago secured Guantánamos harbor for protection during the season of 1898. The Marines landed at Guantanamo Bay with naval support, and American and Cuban forces routed the defending Spanish troops, the war ended with the Treaty of Paris of 1898, in which Spain formally relinquished control of Cuba. Although the war was over, the US maintained a military presence on the island. In 1901 the US government passed the Platt Amendment as part of an Army Appropriations Bill, the Constitution took effect in 1902, and land for a naval base at Guantanamo Bay was granted to the United States the following year. The 1903 lease agreement was executed in two parts, the second agreement, signed five months later in July 1903, established the amount of USD$2,000 to be paid to Cuba annually by the US. The lease amount was changed in 1933 to $3676.50, payments have been sent annually, but only one lease payment has been cashed since the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro claimed that this check was deposited due to confusion in 1959, during World War II, the base was set up to use a nondescript number for postal operations. The base used the Fleet Post Office, Atlantic, in New York City, until the 1953–59 revolution, thousands of Cubans commuted daily from outside the base to jobs within. In mid-1958, vehicular traffic was stopped, workers were required to walk through the several gates. Public Works Center buses were pressed into service almost overnight to carry the tides of workers to and from the gate
4.
Berlin International Film Festival
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The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the worlds leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held annually in Berlin, Germany, founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With around 300,000 tickets sold and 500,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly attended film festival based on actual attendance rates. Up to 400 films are shown in sections, representing a comprehensive array of the cinematic world. Around twenty films compete for the called the Golden and Silver Bears. Since 2001 the director of the festival has been Dieter Kosslick, the European Film Market, a film trade fair held simultaneously to the Berlinale, is a major industry meeting for the international film circuit. The trade fair serves distributors, film buyers, producers, financiers, the Berlinale Talent Campus, a week-long series of lectures and workshops, gathers young filmmakers from around the globe. It partners with the festival itself and is considered to be a forum for upcoming artists, the festival, the EFM and other satellite events are attended by around 20,000 professionals from over 130 countries. More than 4200 journalists are responsible for the exposure in over 110 countries. At high-profile feature film premieres, movie stars and celebrities are present at the red carpet, the Berlinale has established a cosmopolitan character integrating art, glamour, commerce and a global media attention. The Berlin International Film Festival was founded in West Berlin in 1951, alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca opened the first Berlinale. Although the film had premiered in 1940, many Germans had been unable to watch it until after the war ended, since 1978 the festival has been celebrated annually in February. The next-to-most recent festival, the 66th Berlinale, was held from 11 February to 21 February 2016, meryl Streep presided over the international jury. Joel and Ethan Coens film Hail, Caesar. was selected to open the festival, the Golden Bear was awarded to the Italian documentary Fire at Sea, directed by Gianfranco Rosi. The 67th Berlin International Film Festival was held February 9 to February 19,2017, the festival is composed of seven different film sections. Films are chosen in each category by a director with the advice of a committee of film experts. Categories include, Competition, comprises feature-length films yet to be released outside their country of origin, films in the Competition section compete for several prizes, including the top Golden Bear for the best film and a series of Silver Bears for acting, writing and production. Panorama, comprises new independent and arthouse films that deal with controversial subjects or unconventional aesthetic styles, films in the category are intended to provoke discussion, and have historically involved themes such as LGBT issues
5.
Al-Qaeda
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It operates as a network made up of Islamic extremist, Salafist jihadists. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countries, including the 1998 U. S. embassy bombings, the September 11 attacks, the U. S. government responded to the September 11 attacks by launching the War on Terror. Characteristic techniques employed by al-Qaeda include suicide attacks and the bombing of different targets. Al-Qaeda ideologues envision a complete break from all foreign influences in Muslim countries, among the beliefs ascribed to al-Qaeda members is the conviction that a Christian–Jewish alliance is conspiring to destroy Islam. Al-Qaeda also opposes what it regards as man-made laws, and wants to replace them with a form of sharia law. Al-Qaeda has carried out attacks on targets it considers kafir. Al-Qaeda is also responsible for instigating violence among Muslims. Al-Qaeda leaders regard liberal Muslims, Shias, Sufis and other sects as heretics and have attacked their mosques, examples of sectarian attacks include the Yazidi community bombings, the Sadr City bombings, the Ashoura massacre and the April 2007 Baghdad bombings. Since the death of bin Laden in 2011, the group has been led by the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaedas management philosophy has been described as centralization of decision and decentralization of execution. Many terrorism experts do not believe that the global jihadist movement is driven at every level by al-Qaedas leadership, marc Sageman, a psychiatrist and former Central Intelligence Agency officer, said that al-Qaeda is now just a loose label for a movement that seems to target the west. We like to create an entity called in our minds. This view mirrors the account given by Osama bin Laden in his October 2001 interview with Tayseer Allouni and this matter isnt about any specific person and. is not about the al-Qaidah Organization. We are the children of an Islamic Nation, with Prophet Muhammad as its leader, and all the true believers are brothers. So the situation isnt like the West portrays it, that there is an organization with a specific name and that particular name is very old. It was born without any intention from us, created a military base to train the young men to fight against the vicious, arrogant, brutal, terrorizing Soviet empire. So this place was called The Base, as in a base, so this name grew. We arent separated from this nation, and so we discuss the conscience of this nation. Bruce Hoffman, however, sees al-Qaeda as a network that is strongly led from the Pakistani tribal areas
6.
Taliban
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Until his death in 2013, Mullah Mohammed Omar was the supreme commander and spiritual leader of the Taliban. Mullah Akhtar Mansour was elected as his replacement in 2015, and following Mansours killing in a May 2016 U. S. drone strike, Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada became the groups leader. The Taliban emerged in 1994 as one of the prominent factions in the Afghan Civil War, under the leadership of Mohammed Omar, the movement spread throughout most of Afghanistan, sequestering power from the Mujahideen warlords, whose corruption and despotism Afghans had tired of. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established in 1996 and the Afghan capital transferred to Kandahar and it held control of most of the country until being overthrown by the American-led invasion of Afghanistan in December 2001 following the September 11 attacks. At its peak, formal recognition of the Talibans government was acknowledged by only three nations, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The group later regrouped as a movement to fight the American-backed Karzai administration. The Taliban have been condemned internationally for the enforcement of their interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. In its post-9/11 insurgency, the group has accused of using terrorism as a specific tactic to further their ideological and political goals. According to the United Nations, the Taliban and their allies were responsible for 76% of Afghan civilian casualties in 2010, 80% in 2011, Pakistan states that it dropped all support for the group after the September 11 attacks. Al-Qaeda also supported the Taliban with fighters from Arab countries and Central Asia, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee to United Front-controlled territory, Pakistan, and Iran. The word Taliban is Pashto, طالبان ṭālibān, meaning students and this is a loanword from Arabic طالب ṭālib, using the Persian plural ending -ān ان. In Arabic طالبان ṭālibān means not students but two students, as it is a form, the Arabic plural being طلاب ṭullāb—occasionally causing some confusion to Arabic speakers. Since becoming a loanword in English, Taliban, besides a plural noun referring to the group, has also used as a singular noun referring to an individual. For example, John Walker Lindh has been referred to as an American Taliban, in the English language newspapers of Pakistan, the word Talibans is often used when referring to more than one Taliban. The spelling Taliban has come to be predominant over Taleban in English, in the meantime, the United States and Saudi Arabia joined the struggle against the Soviet Union by providing all the funds. Zia-ul-Haq aligned himself with Pakistans Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and later picked General Akhtar Abdur Rahman to lead the insurgency against the Soviet Union inside Afghanistan, about 90,000 Afghans, including Mohammed Omar, were trained by Pakistans ISI during the 1980s. After the fall of the Soviet-backed regime of Mohammad Najibullah in 1992, several Afghan political parties agreed on a peace and power-sharing agreement, the accord created the Islamic State of Afghanistan and appointed an interim government for a transitional period. With the exception of Gulbuddin Hekmatyars Hezb-e Islami, all of the parties, were ostensibly unified under this government in April 1992
7.
West Midlands conurbation
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According to the 2011 Census the area had a population of 2,440,986, making it the third most populated in the United Kingdom behind the Greater London and Greater Manchester Built Up Areas. The conurbation has several lesser used names, such as the Birmingham conurbation, the Birmingham-Wolverhampton conurbation. It should be noted that these settlements are not coterminous with the Metropolitan Boroughs of the same name, the area of conurbation between Birmingham and Wolverhampton is known as the Black Country. The Black Country has no centre, having grown up from a number of historic market towns. It remains essentially polycentric with many of the towns and villages remaining recognisable communities, coventry is separated from the West Midlands conurbation by the Meriden Gap, and other urban areas, such as Cannock and Codsall are also only narrowly avoided. For administrative purposes, the vast majority of the conurbation falls within the six Metropolitan Boroughs of Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, the West Midlands Built Up Area consists of the below settlements. In the 2011 Census, Coleshill and Water Orton are two separate areas with populations of 6,341 and 3,444 respectively. Prior to 2011, they were considered part of the West Midlands Urban Area, bentley Heath was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981. Yew Tree is only considered part of the West Midlands Urban Area in the 2001 census, cheswick Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981. Shelly Green was not considered to be a settlement within the West Midlands Urban Area in 1981 or 1991
8.
Bangladesh
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Bangladesh, officially the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It shares land borders with India and Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and China are located near Bangladesh but do not share a border with it. The countrys maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area, Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country. Dhaka is its capital and largest city, followed by Chittagong which has the countrys largest port, Bangladesh forms the largest and eastern part of the Bengal region. Bangladeshis include people of different ethnic groups and religions, Bengalis, who speak the official Bengali, make up 98% of the population. The politically dominant Bengali Muslims make the nation the worlds third largest Muslim-majority country, most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km of inland waterways, highlands with evergreen forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef and it is home to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The countrys biodiversity includes a vast array of plant and wildlife, including critically endangered Bengal tigers, the Greeks and Romans identified the region as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom of the historical subcontinent, in the 3rd century BCE. Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh, which had trade links for millennia. The Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Bengal transformed the region into a cosmopolitan Islamic imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries, the region was home to many principalities which had inland naval prowess. It was also a center of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. As part of British India, the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance, the Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan, and was renamed as East Pakistan. The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after independence, a parliamentary republic was established. A presidential government was in place between 1975 and 1990, followed by a return to parliamentary democracy, the country has also been affected by poverty, natural disasters, hunger, dominant party systems and military coups. Bangladesh is a power and a major developing nation. Listed as one of the Next Eleven, it has the 46th largest economy and it is one of the largest textile exporters in the world. Its major trading partners are the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, with its strategically vital location between Southern, Eastern and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation
9.
Pakistan
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people, in terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistans narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and it is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic, an ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. The new constitution stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran. Pakistan has an economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector. The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and it is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world, and is backed by one of the worlds largest and fastest-growing middle classes. The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, the country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income. It is also a member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the name Pakistan literally means land of the pure in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto, the letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan, the earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab. The Vedic Civilization, characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre. The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, the Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander, prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of education in the world. At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty of Sindh ruled this region, the Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan. The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD, the Pakistan governments official chronology identifies this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid
10.
September 11 attacks
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The September 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda on the United States on the morning of Tuesday, September 11,2001. The attacks killed 2,996 people, injured over 6,000 others, two of the planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, were crashed into the North and South towers, respectively, of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. A third plane, American Airlines Flight 77, was crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia and it was the deadliest incident for firefighters and law enforcement officers in the history of the United States, with 343 and 72 killed respectively. Suspicion for the attack fell on al-Qaeda. The United States responded to the attacks by launching the War on Terror and invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, many countries strengthened their anti-terrorism legislation and expanded the powers of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to prevent terrorist attacks. Although al-Qaedas leader, Osama bin Laden, initially denied any involvement, al-Qaeda and bin Laden cited U. S. support of Israel, the presence of U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia, and sanctions against Iraq as motives. Having evaded capture for almost a decade, bin Laden was located and killed by SEAL Team Six of the U. S. Navy in May 2011. S. many closings, evacuations, and cancellations followed, out of respect or fear of further attacks. Cleanup of the World Trade Center site was completed in May 2002, on November 18,2006, construction of One World Trade Center began at the World Trade Center site. The building was opened on November 3,2014. The origins of al-Qaeda can be traced to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan and helped organize Arab mujahideen to resist the Soviets. Under the guidance of Ayman al-Zawahiri, bin Laden became more radical, in 1996, bin Laden issued his first fatwā, calling for American soldiers to leave Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden used Islamic texts to exhort Muslims to attack Americans until the stated grievances are reversed, Muslim legal scholars have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries, according to bin Laden. Bin Laden, who orchestrated the attacks, initially denied but later admitted involvement, in November 2001, U. S. forces recovered a videotape from a destroyed house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. In the video, bin Laden is seen talking to Khaled al-Harbi, on December 27,2001, a second bin Laden video was released. In the video, he said, It has become clear that the West in general and it is the hatred of crusaders. Terrorism against America deserves to be praised because it was a response to injustice, aimed at forcing America to stop its support for Israel, the transcript refers several times to the United States specifically targeting Muslims. He said that the attacks were carried out because, we are free, and want to regain freedom for our nation. As you undermine our security we undermine yours, Bin Laden said he had personally directed his followers to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon
11.
Karachi
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Karachi is the capital of Sindh, and is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan, as well as the 7th largest in the world and the worlds second most populous city proper. Ranked as a world city, the city is Pakistans premier industrial and financial centre. Karachi is also Pakistans most cosmopolitan city, though the Karachi region has been inhabited for millennia, the city was founded as a village named Kolachi that was established as a fortified settlement in 1729. By the time of the Partition of British India, the city was the largest in Sindh with a population of 400,000. Immediately following the independence of Pakistan, the population increased dramatically with the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Muslim refugees from India. The city experienced economic growth following independence, attracting migrants from throughout Pakistan. Karachi is now Pakistans premier industrial and financial centre, the city has a formal economy estimated to be worth $113 billion as of 2014. Karachi collects over a third of Pakistans tax revenue, and generates approximately 20% of Pakistans GDP, approximately 30% of Pakistani industrial output is from Karachi, while Karachis ports handle approximately 95% of Pakistans foreign trade. Approximately 90% of the corporations operating in Pakistan are headquartered in Karachi. Up to 70% of Karachis workforce is employed in the informal economy, Karachi is one of Pakistans most secular and socially liberal cities. It is also the most linguistically, ethnically, and religiously diverse city in Pakistan, Karachi is considered to be one of the worlds fastest growing cities, and has communities representing almost every ethnic group in Pakistan. Karachi is also home to over 2 million Bangladeshi migrants,1 million Afghans, the citys murder rate in 2015 had decreased by 75% compared to 2013, and kidnappings decreased by 90%, with the improved security environment triggering sharp increases in real-estate prices. Karachi was reputedly founded in 1729 as the settlement of Kolachi, the new settlement is said to have been named in honour of Mai Kolachi, whose son is said to have slayed a man-eating crocodile in the village after his elder brothers had already been killed by it. The citys inhabitants are referred to by the demonym Karachiite in English, the earliest inhabitants of the Karachi region are believed to have been hunter-gatherers, with ancient flint tools discovered at several sites. The Karachi region is believed to have known to the ancient Greeks. The region may be the site of Krokola, where Alexander the Great once camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia, in 711 C. E. Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh and Indus Valley. The Karachi region is believed to have known to the Arabs as Debal. Under Mirza Ghazi Beg the Mughal administrator of Sindh, development of coastal Sindh, under his rule, fortifications in the region acted as a bulwark against Portuguese incursions into Sindh
12.
Kabul
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Kabul is the capital of Afghanistan as well as its largest city, located in the eastern section of the country. According to a 2015 estimate, the population of the city was around 3,678,033 which includes all the ethnic groups. Rapid urbanization had made Kabul the worlds 64th largest city and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world, Kabul is said to be over 3,500 years old, mentioned since at least the time of the Achaemenid Empire. The city is at a location along the trade routes of South and Central Asia. It has been part of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Mauryans, Kushans, Kabul Shahis, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Later, it was controlled by the Mughal Empire until finally becoming part of the Durrani Empire in 1747. The city is located high up in a valley between the Hindu Kush mountains. Kabul became the capital of Afghanistan during the reign of Timur Shah Durrani, in the early 19th century, the British occupied the city but were compelled to abandon it. Relations between Afghanistan and Great Britain were later established, the city was occupied by the Soviets in 1979 but they too abandoned it after the 1988 Geneva Accords were signed. A civil war in the 1990s between various rebel groups destroyed much of the city, resulting in many casualties, since the removal of the Taliban from power in late 2001, the city gradually began rebuilding itself with assistance by the international community. Despite the many terrorist attacks by elements, the city is growing and developing. The city is divided into about 18 districts, the Kabul International Airport is located in the Wazir Akbar Khan district a few miles from the foreign embassies. The Parliament of Afghanistan, built by India, is located in the Kārte Seh district, Kabul, also spelled Cabool, Caubul, Kabol, or Cabul. The word Kubhā is mentioned in the Rigveda, one of the four sacred texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta. The Rigveda praises it as a city, a vision of paradise set in the mountains. The area in which the Kabul valley sits was ruled by the Medes before falling to the Achaemenids, there is a reference to a settlement called Kabura by the rulers of the Achaemenid Empire, It became a center of Zoroastrianism followed by Buddhism and Hinduism. The region became part of the Seleucid Empire but was given to the Indian Maurya Empire. The Greco-Bactrians captured Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later. Some historians ascribe Kabul the Sanskrit name of Kamboja and it is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings
