 Khairpur
is the twelfth
largest city in the
province of Sindh in
southeast Pakistan.
It is the capital of
the modern Khairpur
District and was the
capital of the
former princely
state of Khayrpur.
History
The state was
founded in 1775 by
Sohrab Khan of a
junior branch of the
ruling Talpur clan
of the state of
Sindh. After almost
two centuries of
varying degrees of
independence, the
state became part of
Pakistan in 1947 and
was merged into the
province of West
Pakistan on 14th
October 1955. When
that province was
dissolved in 1970,
the former state of
Khayrpur became part
of the new province
of Sind (later
changed to Sindh).
Demographics
At the 1998 census,
the population of
the city of Khairpur
was 102,188 having
increased from
61,447 at the 1981
census. The city has
an estimated
population of
127,857 in 2006.
Economy
Khairpur trades in
wheat, cotton, and
dates and is linked
by road and rail to
Karachi.
Manufactures include
refined sugar. Prior
to the annexation of
the state in to
Pakistan in 1955,
Khairpur was an
industrially much
more advanced than
Pakistan producing
leather goods,
carpets, silk
clothing, matches,
soap, shoes,
cigarettes to name a
few. It also had the
largest factories in
textiles, tobbacco
redrying, and silk
weaving in the
sub-continent. Most
of the factories
were shut down by
the Government of
Pakistan which
devestated the local
economy.
The city used to be
a cultural center
before the
annexation. It has
some fine historic
buildings, notably
the Faiz Palace, Kot
Diji Fort, and the
Shrine of the sufi
saint Sachal. |
