Sindh
The Land of Endless Opportunities


The gateway of Islam in the Indo-Pak Subcontinent, Sindh is the second largest province of Pakistan. It is home to the Indus Valley Civilization that is one of the earliest urban civilizations in the world.

Geography
East Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan
West Indus River and Balochistan
North Punjab
South Arabian Sea

Sindh forms the lower Indus basin and lies between 23 to 35 degree and 28-30, north latitude and 66-42 and 71-1 degree east longitude. It is about 579 kms in length from north to south and nearly 442 kms in its extreme breadth (281 kms average). It covers 140,914 square kms and is about as large as England.

The biggest international airport of Pakistan is situated in Karachi and is known as Qaid-e-Azam International Airport.

Districts
There are 27 districts in Sindh. Karachi consists of 5 districts. A list of these districts with their respective areas is as follows:
Total area of Karachi is 1485 sq. Km.
District Thar covering a total area of 19637 sq. km. is the largest district in Sindh.

Did You Know?
Sindh has two gigantic seaports and both are located in Karachi

Natural Resources
Sindh is the richest province in natural resources of gas, petrol and coal. Here is a brief account of Sindh’s natural resources.

Coal
99% coal reserves of Pakistan are in Sindh. These are located in Lakhra, Soondha, Thar, Meeting-Jhampeer and Badin. Among these, Thar coal reserves are the largest in the world. Thar region is endowed with mammoth coal (lignite) reserves estimated to be 175 billion tonnes which can produce 100,000MW of electricity for next 300 years and can be a key to energy security and economic prosperity. Major coalfields in Sindh are:

Thar Coalfield
Total Area 9,100 sq. Km
Coal Reserves 175b tonnes
Badin Coalfield
Total Area 1,110 sq. km
Coal Reserves 1.36b tonnes
Sonda Coalfield
Total Area 1,822 sq. km
Coal Reserves 7.11b tonnes
Lakhra Coalfield
Total Area 1,309 sq. km
Coal Reserves 1.33b tonnes

(Source: Sindh Coal Authority)

Did You Know?
If all the oil reserves of Saudi Arabia & Iran are put together, these are approximately 375 billion barrels, but a single Thar coal reserve of Sindh is about 850 Trillion Cubic Feet, Which is more than oil reserves of Saudi Arabia & Iran.

Natural Gas
Sindh produces 71% of natural gas of Pakistan. There are 10 gasfields in Sindh from where natural gas is extracted. These are: Kandhkoat, Khairpur, Mari (The largest gasfield where 20% gas is stored and 18% gas is produced/used), Suri/Hundi, Golarchi, Khaskheli and Leghari.

Note:
The Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) daily extracts nearly 986 MMCF of natural gas, 368 tonnes of LPG and 71 tonnes of sulphur.
On 18th September, 2012, Italian energy major ENI discovered a major reserve of between 300 billion and 400 billion cubic feet of gas some 350 kilometres north of Karachi in Pakistan.

On October 27, 2012, OGDCL announced the discovery of 400 billion cubic feet from Bhadra Gas Field situated in Dadu district of Sindh.

Crude Oil/Petrol
Sindh produces 62% of the total oil production of Pakistan.

Major Oilfields of Sindh
Tando Alam, Lashari, Thora, Sono, Missan, Pasakhi and Kunnar

Politics
Karachi is the capital of Sindh. Provincial Assembly of the province is based in Karachi while Sindh Public Service Commission is headquartered at Hyderabad. The provincial Assembly consists of 168 members including 130 general seats, 29 seats reserved for women and 9 seats for Non-Muslims.

The foundation stone of the building was laid by Sir Lancelot Graham, the Governor of Sindh, on 11 March 1940. The construction of the building – declared open by Sir Hugh Dow, the Governor of Sindh, on 4 March 1942 – was completed within a span of two years.

In 1971, after a lapse of about 24 years, it was again declared as the Sindh Assembly building. Since then it has been used as such.

Important
Khan Bahadur Muhammed Ayub Khoro is the only person in the history of Sindh since 1947 who has served thrice as the Chief Minister of the province.
Mr. Mahmood A. Haroon has been the Governor of Sindh for two terms.

Did You Know?
The 30th Governor of Sindh, Dr Ishrat Ul Ebad Khan, took up the post on December 27, 2002, becoming the youngest governor to hold the office. He now holds also the record of longest-serving Governor of any province of Pakistan since its inception in 1947.

Culture
The culture of Sindh has its roots in the Indus Valley Civilization.

• Poets
Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and Sachal Sarmast are the two most revered sufi poets of Sindh. Some famous regional poets are Shaikh Ayaz, Ustaad Bhukhari, Ahmed Khan Madhoosh, Adal Soomro, Ayaz Gul, Abdul Ghaffar Tabasum, G.N.Qureshi, Rukhsana Preet, Waseem Soomro.
• Folktales
Famous folktales of Sindh include Sassuee Punhoon, Moomal Rano, Umar Marvi, Noori Jaam Tamachi, Suhni Mehar and Sorath - Rai - Diyach Leela Chanesar.
• Language
Besides Urdu, Sindhi with its dialects Kutchi, Lasi, Parkari, Memoni, Lari, Vicholi, Utradi, Macharia, Dukslinu (spoken by Hindu Sindhis) and Siraiki are two main languages.
• Sports
The most famous regional sports include Malakhiro, Wanjh Wati, Kodi Kodi, Beelarhoo, Thipai Rand, Notinn and Biloor.
• Music
Famous Sindhi singers include the great Abida Parveen, Ustad Muhammad Juman, Ustad Manzoor Ali Khan, Zarina Baloch, Shaman Ali Meerali, Mai Bhaghi, Allan Faqir, Sohrab Fakir and many other singers who prefer singing Sindhi songs.

Pakistan's Prime Ministers born in Sindh
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Muhammad Khan Junejo, Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Shaukat Aziz, Muhammad Mian Soomro and Raja Pervaiz Ashraf were born in Sindh.

Places to Visit
Moenjodaro, Kot Diji Fort, Gorakh Hill, Runnikot Fort, Naukot Fort, Thatta and Makli Graveyard, Banbhore, Keenjhar Lake, Hyderabad Fort (Pakko Qilo), Haleji Lake,

Did You Know?
1.The Gorakh hill station is 5,866 feet above sea level and is part of the Khirthar mountain range. With pleasant weather and a beautiful landscape, it is the only place in Sindh where it snows in winter.

2. Makli Graveyard is one of the largest necropolises in the world, with a diameter of approximately 8 kilometers, Makli Hill is supposed to be the burial place of some 125,000 Sufi saints.

Twin Cities
Karachi
Port Louis, Mauritius since 1 May 2007
Shanghai, China since 15 February 1984
Puttalam, Sri Lanka November 2012
Hong Kong
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Istanbul, Turkey
Beirut, Lebanon
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Izmir, Turkey, since 1985
Houston, United States since 8 May 2008
Manama, Bahrain
Pristina, Kosovo since 24 July 2008
Dubai, U.A.E
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1 June 2008
Moscow, Russia 28 August 2011
Mashad, Iran, 11 May 2012
Chicago, USA

Sindh & Pakistan Movement
• Sindh was an important centre of activities during the Khilafat Movement. The Hijrat Tehrik also started in Sindh
• Under the Government of India Act of 1935, Sindh was made a province with its own Legislative Assembly on April 1, 1936.
• The Sindh Provincial Muslim League Conference held its first session at Karachi in October 1938 under the presidentship of Quaid-i-Azam.
• A Muslim League Assembly party was established in Sindh ,of which Ghulam Hussain Hidayatullah was elected leader and Mir Bandeh Ali Talpur deputy leader.
• It was only the Sindh Assembly, amongst all the provinces of undivided India, which passed a resolution on March 3, 1943, presented by the late G.M. Syed on the lines of the Lahore Resolution, in support of Pakistan.
• On June 26, 1947 the Sindh Assembly, at a special session, decided to join the new Pakistan Constituent Assembly. Thus, Sindh became the first province to opt for Pakistan.

Islands in Sindh
Churna: The second-largest island of Pakistan
Manora: A tiny peninsula located south of the port of Karachi Others
Baba Bhit Island, Buddo Island, Bundal Island, Khiprianwala Island, Shams Pir and Clifton Oyster Rocks - small islets

Lakes in Sindh
Drigh Lake Qambar Shahdadkot
Hadero Lake Thatta
Haleji Lake Thatta
Hamal Lake Qamber Shahdadkot
Keenjhar Lake Thatta
Manchar Lake Dadu

Artificial Lakes and Reservoirs
Chotiari Lake Sanghar District
Hub Lake Karachi and Lasbela District on Sindh and Balochistan border

Famous Shrines
Syed Qutub Ali Shah: Tando Jahania, Hyderabad

Abdul Wahab Faruqi (Sachal Sarmast): Khairpur

Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai: Bhit Shah, Matiari

Syed Usman Marwandi (Lal Shahbaz Qalandar): Sehwan

Syed Abdullah Shah Ghazi: Karachi

Sakhi Sultan: Mangho Pir, Karachi

Qutbe-Alam Shah Bukhari: Karachi

Abdullah Shah As'habi: Thatta

Some Random Facts
Indus, the largest river of Pakistan, originates from Tibetan Plateau and after covering the total distance of 3180 kilometres, it falls into the Arabian Sea near Thatta in Sindh.

Blind River Dolphin, also called Indus Susu, found in the Indus River is one of four river dolphin species and subspecies in the world that spend all their lives in freshwater.

Sir Cowasji Jehangir Institute of Psychiatry Mental Hospital, commonly known as Gidu Bander, is the biggest mental hospital in Pakistan.

The territory of Sindh was annexed to the Bombay Presidency in 1843.

Pir Sibghatullah Shah Rashdi, Pir Pagara, launched a militant revolt known as "Hur Movement" against the British Raj.


Muhammad Usman Butt
Source Jehangir Times Magazine