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The population of Karachi grew from around 400,000 in 1947 to approximately 20 million over the period of 65 years.

When the British held complete sway over the subcontinent in the 19th century, many gothic and renaissance styled buildings were constructed all the way through the city.

These buildings were mainly located in the Saddar area of Karachi and still remain famous amongst the people. However, most of them deteriorated over time due to lack of heritage preservation.

On the other hand a city that stood half empty has developed massively over the years and the streets that only housed a handful are now bursting with buildings, people and cars.

However the ancient architecture has not lost its charm over the contemporary construction that is slowly but surely taking over.

Using images from our archive and from the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, Dawn.com went out in search of the places from these old photos — to shoot, document and present just how much the city of Karachi has changed over the years.

— All coloured images and text by Shameen Khan & Nadir Siddiqui/Dawn.com