Karachi is the largest metropolitan city of Pakistan which is considered the backbone of the countrys economy. Also called the 'Mini Pakistan, it is the largest city located anywhere on the Arabian Sea, Situated on a coastal strip stretching 700 miles long, it has 540 low-level localities, or squatter colonies that are deprived of all basic facilities of life. Orangi Town area of Karachi is reputed to be the largest shanty settlement of Asia. Karachi itself happens to be the 8th most populous city of the world. The city boasts of having the biggest university of Pakistan, the Karachi University that has approximately twenty thousand students studying here. Other renowned educational institutions are the NED University of Engineering, Institute of Business Administration, Sir Syed university of Engineering & Technology, Sindh Medical College, Dow University of Medical Sciences and Agha Khan Medical University. Karachi is the financial hub of Pakistan having leading bourse of the country, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). The city has eight airbases and five seaports. Port Qasim, its biggest port has a channel that runs about 40 km. Quaid-e-Azam International Airport is the busiest and biggest airport of Pakistan. Karachi Cantt Railway Station is the biggest railway station in Pakistan. The city also boasts of having mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan. The posh areas of Karachi include the Defence, Clifton, F.B Area, Malir Cantt, Sindhi Muslim Society and the KDA Scheme. M. A Jinnah Road is one of the widest roads of South Asia. Shahra-e-Faysal, the other main artery of Karachi, is also matchless. -QURATUL AIN IFTIKHAR, Karachi, May 4.