Karachi District () Largest city and chief port of Pakistan, lying on the Arabian Sea, northwest of the Indus River Delta; population (1998 est) 9,269,300; 4 million live in makeshift settlements. It is the capital of Sindh province, and Pakistan's leading centre for commerce, finance, industry, and transport. Its port handles most of the international trade of the country, as well as of the neighbouring landlocked state of Afghanistan. It is also served by a major international airport. Industries include shipbuilding, engineering, chemicals, plastics and textiles, including the manufacture of cotton and jute. It was the capital of Pakistan 1947-59, when it was replaced by Islamabad.