Although chlorine is an electron-withdrawing group,it is ortho-para directing in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Why?

(N/A) Chlorine withdraws electrons through the inductive effect ($-I$ effect) and releases electrons through resonance ($+R$ effect).
Through the inductive effect,chlorine destabilizes the intermediate carbocation formed during the electrophilic substitution.
Through resonance,the halogen tends to stabilize the carbocation,and this effect is more pronounced at the $ortho$- and $para$- positions.
The inductive effect is stronger than the resonance effect,causing net electron withdrawal,which leads to overall deactivation of the benzene ring.
However,the resonance effect opposes the inductive effect specifically for the attack at the $ortho$- and $para$- positions,making the deactivation less significant at these positions compared to the $meta$- position.
Thus,the overall reactivity is controlled by the stronger inductive effect,while the orientation of the incoming electrophile is controlled by the resonance effect.