List of people from Karachi

This is a list of notable people from the city of Karachi in Pakistan, also known as Karachiites:

Armed forces

 * Vice Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan - governor
 * Muhammad Mahmood Alam
 * Mirza Aslam Beg - four-star general
 * Moinuddin Haider - lieutenant general, governor
 * Pervez Musharraf - former President and Army Chief of Pakistan
 * Ft. Lt. Rashid Minhas Shaheed - only PAF recipient of Nishan-e-Haider
 * Marium Mukhtiar Pakistan's first female martyred fighter pilot in the line of duty.

Art and literature

 * Minocher K. Spencer Parsi author and spiritual healer from Karachi (born October 4, 1888 Pune, India)
 * Jamiluddin Aali - poet, columnist, critic (born 1926 in Delhi)
 * Mohammad Abdul Ahed - architect, educator, painter (1919-2001)
 * Manzoor Ahmad - philosopher (born 1934)
 * Obaidullah Aleem - journalist, poet (1939-1998)
 * Ahmed Ali - novelist, poet, critic, translator, diplomat and scholar (1910 in New Delhi - 1994 in Karachi)
 * Nasim Amrohvi - Urdu poet, philosopher, and lexicographer (1908-1987)
 * Rais Amrohvi - journalist, poet, psychoanalyst (1914-1988)
 * Iftikhar Arif - poet, critic, author (born 1943)
 * Hasan Askari - philosopher, author, critic (1919-1978)
 * Zamir Ali Badayuni - critic (1941-2003)
 * Fatima Surayya Bajia - drama writer (born 1930)
 * Tabish Dehlvi - poet (1911-2004)
 * Jon Elia - Arsalan Kachaliya's favorite poet, philosopher (1931-2002)
 * Aslam Farrukhi - writer, critic, linguist (born 1923)
 * Farman Fatehpuri - researcher, poet, critic, linguist (1926-2013)
 * Dilawar Figar - humorous poet, scholar (1929 Badaun, UP - 1998 Karachi)
 * Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah - first female columnist of Pakistan (1921-2000)
 * Maulvi Abdul Haq - father of modern Urdu (1872-1961)
 * Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee - Urdu poet, writer, journalist, broadcaster, translator, critic, researcher, linguist and lexicographer
 * Hameed Haroon - journalist, activist
 * Sibte Hassan - author, columnist, activist (1916-1986)
 * Zahida Hina - columnist, author, poet (born 1946)
 * Ashfaq Hussain - Urdu poet and television personality in Canada for Asian Television Network (born 1951)
 * Intizar Hussain - linguist, novelist, critic (born 1923)
 * Ibn-e-Insha - poet, writer and humorist (1927 Phillaur, Punjab, British India - 1978 London, England)
 * Ibn-e-Safi - novelist, story writer (1928 Nara, district of Allahabad, UP, British India - 1980 Karachi)
 * Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah - writer, activist (1915-2000)
 * Farhat Ishtiaq - writer, author and screenwriter (born June 23, 1980)
 * Siddiq Ismail - religious Hamd and Naat reciter (born 1954)
 * Qamar Jalalvi - poet (1887 Jalali, Aligarh, India - 1968 Karachi)
 * Jameel Jalibi - scholar, critic, linguist, former VC KU (born 1929)
 * Abul Khair Kashfi - critic, linguist, author, scholar (1932 Kanpur, British India - 2008 Karachi)
 * Khalique Ibrahim Khalique - journalist, poet, critic (1926-2006)
 * Ghulam Mustafa Khan - writer, critic, linguist, researcher, scholar, educationist (1912-2005)
 * Josh Malihabadi - poet, linguist, scholar (1894-1982)
 * Anwar Maqsood - drama writer, anchor, actor (born 1935 Hyderabad State)
 * Haseena Moin - playwright, drama writer
 * Zehra Nigah - poet
 * Pirzada Qasim - poet, author, educationist (born 1943)
 * Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi - author, historian, educationist (1903-1981)
 * Fahmida Riaz - writer, poet, activist (born 1946 Meerut, UP, British India)
 * Sadequain - painter, calligraphist (1930 Amroha, British India - 1987 Karachi)
 * Hakeem Muhammad Said - pioneer of Eastern medicine, philanthropist (1993-1994)
 * Abul Lais Siddiqui - critic, linguist, author, scholar
 * Shaukat Siddiqui - novelist, fiction writer (1923-2006)
 * Raees Warsi - journalist, author, poet, founder of Urdu Markaz New York (born 1963)
 * Mushtaq Ahmed Yousfi - author, humorist (born 1923)
 * Mustafa Zaidi - poet (1930-1970)
 * Kashan Admani - musician

Bankers

 * Agha Hasan Abedi - banker and founder of the now-defunct Bank of Credit and Commerce International
 * Shaukat Aziz - former Prime Minister of Pakistan
 * Ishrat Hussain - former Governor State Bank of Pakistan and incumbent Dean of Institute of Business Administration

Businessmen

 * Abdul Razzak Yaqoob, Chairman of the ARY Group
 * Ahmed Dawood, industrialist, philanthropist and founder of Dawood Group
 * Agha Hasan Abedi - banker, founder of BCCI
 * Bashir Ali Mohammad, Gul Ahmed Group
 * Hussain Haqqani - leading Urdu debater, National College, Karachi; Ambassador of Pakistan to U.S.A.
 * Jahangir Siddiqui, owner of JS Group
 * Javed Jabbar - orator, politician, Senator
 * Malik Riaz - Pakistani business tycoon who is the founder of Bahria Town.
 * Monis Rahman - Founder & CEO of Naseeb Networks
 * Rafiq M. Habib - Group chairman of the renowned ‘House of Habib’, chairman of Habib Insurance Company Ltd.
 * Raza Rabbani - English debater, politician, Senator
 * Sadruddin Hashwani - Founder and chairman of Hashoo Group.
 * Safi Qureshi - co-founder and CEO of AST Research; born and educated in Karachi; now based in the US
 * Sikandar Sultan - Managing Director of Shan Food Industries

Debaters and orators

 * Hussain Haqqani - leading Urdu debater, National College, Karachi; Ambassador of Pakistan to U.S.A.
 * Javed Jabbar - orator, politician, Senator
 * Raza Rabbani - English debater, politician, Senator

Economists

 * Ishrat Hussain - former Governor State Bank of Pakistan
 * Akhtar Hameed Khan - pioneer of microcredit and microfinance in Pakistan, founder of Orangi Pilot Project
 * Nawab Haider Naqvi - former Director PIDE
 * Anwar Shaikh - Marxist economist, and professor
 * Muhammad Shoaib - Finance Minister; Executive Director World Bank; father of Nafisa Sadik

Education

 * Anita Ghulam Ali - educationist
 * Nasim Amrohvi
 * Moinuddin Aqeel - author, critic, linguist, scholar
 * Bernadette Louise Dean - former Principal of Kinnaird College, Lahore
 * Mary Emily - recipient of the Sitara-e-Imtiaz for services to education
 * Aslam Farrukhi - author, poet, critic, linguist, scholar
 * Farman Fatehpuri - real name Syed Dildar Ali; author, critic, linguist, scholar
 * Khalida Ghous - human rights activist, scholar
 * Yolande Henderson - high school teacher
 * Jameel Jalibi - linguist, scholar
 * Abul Khair Kashfi - author, critic, linguist, scholar
 * Matin Ahmed Khan - academic, marketing expert and management educator, Dean and Director of the Institute of Business Administration
 * Ghulam Mustafa Khan - author, critic, linguist, scholar, Sufi
 * Anthony Theodore Lobo - founder of many schools
 * Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi - VC Karachi University, author, historian, scholar
 * Ata ur Rahman - Chairman HEC, scientist
 * Hakim Saeed - VC Hamdard University
 * Abul Lais Siddiqui - author, critic, linguist, scholar
 * Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui - Chancellor, Karachi University
 * Raziuddin Siddiqui - physicist, mathematician, scholar
 * Shahid Aziz Siddiqi - former Federal Secretary and Vice Chancellor, Ziauddin University
 * Norma Fernandes - former Headmistress (Kindergarten/Junior Section) of the Karachi Grammar School

Journalists

 * Cyril Almeida
 * Mujahid Barelvi
 * Ardeshir Cowasjee
 * Ian Fyfe, sports journalist
 * Kamran Khan
 * Daniele Mastrogiacomo - Italian journalist born in Karachi
 * Arshad Sharif
 * Waseem Badami
 * Maria Memon
 * Shahid Masood

Law and judiciary

 * Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah - CJS, Chief Justice of Sindh High Court from Karachi.
 * Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed - Chief Justice Sind High Court and Judge Supreme Court of Pakistan
 * Justice Alvin Robert Cornelius
 * Mohammad Haleem - former Chief Justice of Pakistan
 * Makhdoom Ali Khan - former Attorney General of Pakistan
 * Naimatullah Khan - advocate
 * Justice Ajmal Mian - former Chief Justice of Pakistan
 * Justice Dorab Patel
 * Nazim Hussain Siddiqui - former Chief Justice of Pakistan
 * Justice Haziqul Khairi - former Chief Justice Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
 * Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui - former Chief Justice of Pakistan
 * Justice Rana Bhagwandas - former acting Chief Justice of Pakistan
 * Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid - former Chief Justice Sindh High Court and Justice Pakistan Supreme Court of Pakistan
 * Khalid Jawed Khan Attorney General for Pakistan

Actors and comedians

 * Aamina Sheikh - model, actress
 * Adeel Hussain - model, actress
 * Adnan Jaffar - television, film actor
 * Ahad Raza Mir - actor
 * Aijaz Aslam - actor
 * Aiman Khan - actress
 * Aiza Khan - actress, model
 * Alizeh Shah - model, actress
 * Angela Thorne - English actress
 * Anwar Maqsood - drama writer, anchor, actor
 * Ather Shah Khan Jaidi Writer comedian
 * Ayaz Samoo - comedian, actor
 * Azfar Rehman - actor
 * Babar Ali - actor
 * Behroze Sabzwari - film actor
 * Bilal Abbas Khan - actor
 * Bushra Ansari - actress, comedian
 * Danish Nawaz - actor
 * Danish Taimoor - actor
 * Fahad Mustafa - actor
 * Fawad Khan - actor
 * Fatima Effendi - model, actress
 * Hina Altaf - actress
 * Hina Dilpazeer - actress, TV host, model
 * Humayun Saeed - actor, model and producer
 * Iman Vellani - Pakistani-Canadian television actor
 * Iqbal Theba - Pakistani-American television actor
 * Iqra Aziz - model, actress
 * Izhar Qazi - film and TV actor
 * Jamshed Ansari - comedian
 * Kaveeta - actress
 * Kumail Nanjiani - comedian
 * Mashal Khan - actress
 * Madiha Imam - model, actress
 * Mahira Khan - television, film actor
 * Margaret Lockwood - film and stage actress (1916-1990)
 * Mawra Hocane - model, actress
 * Mehwish Hayat - actress, model
 * Minal Khan - actress
 * Mohib Mirza - actor
 * Moin Akhter - TV, film and stage actor, comedian and host
 * Momal Sheikh - actress
 * Muneeb Butt - actor
 * Nadeem - film actor
 * Nadia Hussain - model, actress
 * Nirala (real name Muzaffar Hussain) - comedian
 * Ramsha Khan - model, actress
 * Rauf Lala - comedian, actor
 * Sajid Hasan - actor
 * Salim Nasir - comedian, actor
 * Sami Shah - comedian, writer
 * Sana Javed - model, actress
 * Sangeeta - actress, filmmaker, director
 * Saud Qasmi - actor
 * Shehroz Sabzwari - actor
 * Somy Ali, actress and activist
 * Syed Kamal - film actor
 * Syra Yousuf - model, actress
 * Talat Hussain - television actor, director
 * Umer Sharif - comic actor
 * Urwa Hocane - actress
 * Yasir Nawaz - actor
 * Yumna Zaidi - actress
 * Zafar Karachiwala, Indian actor, ancestors from Karachi
 * Zainab Qayyum - model, actress, TV host
 * Zhalay Sarhadi - model, actress

Singers, musicians and music & directors

 * Salma Agha - singer
 * Alamgir - pop singer
 * Sajjad Ali - singer
 * Waqar Ali - singer and musician
 * Faraz Anwar - guitarist
 * Iqbal Bano - ghazal singer
 * Nisar Bazmi - composer
 * Munni Begum - singer
 * Ali Haider - singer
 * Mehdi Hassan - ghazal singer
 * Nazia Hassan - first female pop singer of Pakistan
 * Zohaib Hassan - singer
 * Mehreen Jabbar - Pakistani film director
 * Ahmed Jahanzeb - singer
 * S. B. John - singer
 * Faisal Kapadia - singer
 * Bilal Maqsood - composer
 * Habib Wali Mohammad - singer
 * Sohail Rana - composer
 * Shehzad Roy - singer
 * Ahmed Rushdi - singer
 * Ramesh Sippy Indian film director and producer from Karachi.
 * Syed Ali Raza Usama - Pakistani film and drama director
 * Lenny Zakatek - English pop and rock star

Dancers

 * Sheema Kermani social activist, theater director and exponent of Bharatnatyam dance.

Philanthropists and social workers

 * Somy Ali - activist, filmmaker, and former actress and model
 * Ansar Burney - human rights activist and founder of the Ansar Burney Trust
 * Abdul Sattar Edhi - philanthropist and founder of the Edhi Foundation
 * Bilquis Edhi - philanthropist, founder of the Bilquis Edhi Foundation, wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi
 * Ruth Lewis - awarded Sitara-i-Imtiaz for managing Darul Sukun, a home for the disabled
 * Fatima Lodhi - social worker, founder of Dark is Divine, first anti-colorism campaign from Pakistan
 * Fahmida Riaz
 * Hakim Said - scholar, philanthropist, former Governor of Sindh
 * Nafis Sadik - United Nations
 * Ramzan Chhipa - philanthropist and founder of the Chhipa Welfare Association

Politicians and bureaucrats

 * Lal Krishna Advani - Former Deputy Prime Minister of India and co-founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party in India
 * Abdul Sattar Afghani - ex-Mayor Karachi Metropolitan City
 * Shaukat Aziz - former Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Pakistan
 * Benazir Bhutto - former Prime Minister
 * Fakhruddin G. Ebrahim - Governor, Law Minister, Attorney General
 * Imran Farooq - co-founder of MQM
 * Syed Munawar Hasan - former Ameer of Jamaat-e-Islami
 * Altaf Hussain - founder and chairman of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)
 * Fatima Jinnah - sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Madar-i-Millet
 * Muhammad Ali Jinnah - founder of Pakistan
 * Syed Mustafa Kamal - former Nazim (Mayor) of Karachi
 * Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan - former Governor of Sindh
 * Naimatullah Khan - former Mayor of Karachi city
 * Shahryar Khan - former Foreign Secretary and former Chairman of the Cricket Board in Pakistan
 * Jamshed Nusserwanjee Mehta - Mayor of Karachi
 * Pervez Musharraf - General (Retd.), former Army Chief, military dictator and President of Pakistan
 * Farooq Sattar - parliamentary leader of the MQM
 * Ahmad Noorani Siddiqi - leader of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan; founder of the World Islamic Mission
 * Azeem Ahmed Tariq - former chairman of MQM
 * Harchandrai Vishandas - former mayor of Karachi (during 1900s)
 * Ali Zaidi - Pakistan Tahreek e insaaf
 * Asif Ali Zardari - former president of Pakistan
 * Bilawal Bhutto Zardari - Chairman of Pakistan People's Party
 * Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar sixth Prime Minister of Pakistan, former Pakistani ambassador to Turkey
 * Hussain Haroon Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
 * Ghulam Akbar Lasi - Pakistani politician
 * Faisal Vawda - Pakistani politician
 * Muhammad Zubair Umar - former Governor of Sindh
 * Imran Ismail - former Governor of Sindh
 * Murad Ali Shah - Chief Minister of Sindh
 * Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman - Pakistani politician
 * Saeed Ghani - Pakistani politician
 * Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui - Pakistani politician
 * Khurrum Sher Zaman - Pakistani politician
 * Firdous Shamim Naqvi - Pakistani politician
 * Khawaja Izharul Hassan - Pakistani politician
 * Faisal Subzwari - Pakistani politician
 * Syed Aminul Haque - Pakistani politician

Religious leaders and scholars

 * Talib Jauhari - religious scholar
 * Aga Khan III - Imam Sultan Mohammed Shah - 48th Imam of Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, President League of Nations, President All India Muslim League and GCSI, GCMG
 * Muhammad Ilyas Qadri - founder of Dawat-e-Islami
 * Muhammad Muslehuddin Siddiqui
 * Godrej Sidhwa A Parsi Zoroastrian priest
 * Taqi Usmani - religious scholar
 * Rafi Usmani - religious scholar
 * Mufti Muhammad Naeem - religious scholar
 * Abdullah Shah Ghazi was an eighth-century (c. 720) mystic Sufi, whose shrine is located in the Clifton, Karachi.

Scientists

 * Salimuzzaman Siddiqui - chemist
 * Abdul Qadeer Khan - metallurgist and founder of Pakistan's nuclear programme
 * Atta ur Rahman - chemist
 * Raziuddin Siddiqui - astrophysicist and mathematician
 * Ziauddin Ahmed
 * Muhammad Ali Shah - orthopaedic surgeon
 * M. Shahid Qureshi - astrophysicist and mathematician
 * Pervez Hoodbhoy - nuclear physicist
 * Ahmed Mohiuddin - zoologist
 * Muhammad Qudrat-i-Khuda

Badminton players

 * Palwasha Bashir
 * Mahoor Shahzad

Cricketers
• Nain Abidi

• Shahid Afridi - world record holder for the fastest ODI century

• Afzaal Ahmed

• Sarfaraz Ahmed

• Tanvir Ahmed

• Tauseef Ahmed

• Mansoor Akhtar

• Manzoor Akhtar

• Fawad Alam

• Anwar Ali

• Basit Ali

• Liaqat Ali

• Saad Ali

• Saeed Anwar

• Atiq-uz-Zaman

• Sikandar Bakht

• Wasim Bari

• Philip Bonham-Carter

• Anil Dalpat - first Hindu to play for the country

• Rusi Dinshaw

• Antao D'Souza

• Mir Hamza

• Shahzaib Hasan

• Afaq Hussain

• Asif Iqbal

• Faisal Iqbal

• Saleem Jaffar

• Jalal-ud-Din - in 1982, took the first hat-trick in an ODI

• Abdul Kadir

• Asim Kamal

• Danish Kaneria - second Hindu to play for the country

• Saleem Karim

• Javeria Khan

• Mohsin Khan

• Moin Khan

• Rashid Khan

• Tabish Khan

• Khalid Latif

• Rashid Latif

• Shahid Mahmood

• Khurram Manzoor

• Wallis Mathias

• Anwar Miandad

• Javed Miandad

• Hanif Mohammad - first Pakistani batsman to score a triple century

• Mushtaq Mohammad

• Shoaib Mohammad

• Asif Mujtaba

• Urooj Mumtaz - former cricketer, commentator, dentist

• Nasim-ul-Ghani

• Naumanullah

• Iqbal Qasim

• Rumman Raees

• Haroon Rasheed

• Hasan Raza

• Rameez Raja Jnr

• Mohammad Sami

• Asad Shafiq

• Owais Shah (born 1978) - English cricketer

• Saud Shakeel

• Saleem Yousuf

Footballer

 * Saddam Hussain
 * Hajra Khan - captain of the Pakistan women's national football team

Hockey players

 * Sohail Abbas
 * Mansoor Ahmed
 * Jack Britto (Olympian)
 * Hanif Khan
 * Shahid Ali Khan
 * Hassan Sardar
 * Islahuddin Siddique

Sprinters

 * John Permal, He was the fastest man in Pakistan
 * Naseem Hameed

Swimmer

 * Mumtaz Ahmed - olympian

Historical personalities

 * Mai Kolachi incumbent name of Karachi is derived from this fisher woman.

Miscellaneous

 * Bashir Ahmad
 * Tazeen Ahmad
 * Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
 * Jacqueline Maria Dias, professor of nursing
 * Jacob Harris, first-class cricketer and sports coach
 * Lady Abdullah Haroon
 * Agha Hilaly
 * Aamir Liaquat Hussain
 * Junaid Jamshed
 * Siddiq Ismail
 * Farahnaz Ispahani
 * Shadab Kabir
 * Jahangir Khan
 * Yousuf Ludhianvi
 * Iskander Mirza
 * Abdur Rab Nishtar
 * Arman Sabir
 * Benny Mario Travas
 * Kamal Warsi
 * Irfan Yusuf