SHIKARPUR

city, northern Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The city lies 18 miles (29 km) west of the Indus River and is connected by road and rail with Sukkur (20 miles southeast), Jacobabad, and Larkana. It is a historical trade centre, founded in 1617 on a caravan route through the Bolan Pass into Afghanistan. Shikarpur's manufactures include brass and metal goods, carpets, cotton cloth, and embroidery. It was constituted a municipality in 1855. Its great bazaar (covered because of the summer heat) is famous throughout Turkistan and southern Asia. The city also has a government college affiliated with the University of Sindh. The area about Shikarpur consists of flat alluvial deposits northwest of the Indus River. It is a major area for rice cultivation and for sheep and goat raising; other crops include wheat, gram, rapeseed, sugarcane, and cotton. Pashtun are the major ethnic group. Pop. (1981) city, 88,138.