Islamabad(; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Built as a planned city in the 1960s and established in 1967, it replaced Karachi as Pakistan's national capital.
The Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis developed Islamabad's master plan, in which he divided it into eight zones; the city comprises administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational and industrial sectors, commercial areas, as well as rural and green areas administered by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation with support from the Capital Development Authority. Islamabad is known for its parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and the Shakarparian. It is home to several landmarks, including the country's flagship Faisal Mosque, which is the world's sixth-largest mosque. Other prominent landmarks include the Pakistan Monument and Democracy Square.
Rated as Gamma + by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Islamabad has one of the highest costs of living in Pakistan. The city's populace is dominated by both middle- and upper-middle-class citizens. Islamabad is home to more than twenty universities, including Bahria University, Quaid-e-Azam University, PIEAS, COMSATS University, and NUST. It is also rated as one of the safest cities in Pakistan and has an expansive RFID-enabled surveillance system with almost 2,000 active CCTV cameras.
Occasionally in writing, Islamabad is colloquially abbreviated ISB. Such usage originated in SMS language, in part due to the IATA location identifier for the Islamabad International Airport.
Excavations by Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Lone reveal evidence of a prehistoric culture in the area. Relics and human skulls have been found dating back to 5000 BCE that indicate the region was home to Neolithic peoples who settled on the banks of the Soan and who later developed small communities in the region around 3000 BCE.
The Indus Valley civilization flourished in the region between the 23rd and 18th centuries BCE. Later the area was an early settlement of the Aryan community which migrated into the region from Central Asia. Many great armies such as those of Zahiruddin Babur, Genghis Khan, Timur and Ahmad Shah Durrani crossed the region during their invasions of the Indian subcontinent. In 2015–16, the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums, with the financial support of National Fund for Cultural Heritage, carried out initial archaeological excavations and unearthed the remains of a Buddhist stupa at Ban Faqiran, near the Shah Allah Ditta caves. The stupa was dated to between the 2nd and 4th centuries CE.
A Greek firm of architects, led by Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis, designed the master plan of the city based on a grid plan which was triangular in shape with its apex towards the Margalla Hills. The capital was not moved directly from Karachi to Islamabad; it was first shifted temporarily to Rawalpindi in the early 1960s and then to Islamabad when essential development work was completed in 1966.
In 1981, Islamabad separated from Punjab province to form Capital Territory. Such world-renowned architects as Edward Durell Stone and Gio Ponti have been associated with the city's development.
The city suffered damage from the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which had a magnitude of 7.6. Islamabad has experienced a series of terrorist incidents including the July 2007 Siege of Lal Masjid (Red Mosque), the June 2008 Danish embassy bombing, and the September 2008 Marriott bombing. In 2011, four terrorist incidents occurred in the city, killing four people, including the murder of the Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer.
Construction of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus, the region's first mass transit line, began in February 2014 and was completed in March 2015. The Rawalpindi Development Authority built the project at a cost of approximately Rs. 24 billion, which was shared by both the Federal government and the provincial government of Punjab.
Islamabad is located at at the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the Margalla Hills in Islamabad Capital Territory. Its elevation is .
The modern capital and the ancient Gakhars city of Rawalpindi form a conurbation and are commonly referred to as the Twin Cities.To the northeast of the city lies the colonial era hill station of Murree, and to the north lies the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kahuta lies on the southeast, Taxila, Wah Cantt, and Attock District to the northwest, Gujar Khan, Rawat, and Mandrah on the southeast, and the metropolis of Rawalpindi to the south and southwest. Islamabad is located SSW of Muzaffarabad, east of Peshawar and NNW of Lahore.
Islamabad covers an area of .Butt, M. J., Waqas, A., Iqbal, M, F., Muhammad., G., and Lodhi, M. A. K., 2011, "Assessment of Urban Sprawl of Islamabad Metropolitan Area Using Multi-Sensor and Multi-Temporal Satellite Data." Arabian Journal For Science And Engineering. Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1007/s13369-011-0148-3. A further area is known as the Specified Area, with the Margala Hills in the north and northeast. The southern portion of the city is an undulating plain. It is drained by the Korang River, on which the Rawal Dam is located.
Islamabad's micro-climate is regulated by three artificial reservoirs: Rawal Lake, Simli Lake, and Khanpur Dam. The latter is located on the Haro River near the town of Khanpur, about from Islamabad. Simli Dam is north of Islamabad. of the city consists of Margalla Hills National Park. Loi Bher Forest is situated along the Islamabad Highway, covering an area of . The highest monthly rainfall of was recorded during July 1995. Winters generally feature dense fog in the mornings and sunny afternoons. In the city, temperatures stay mild, with snowfall over the higher-elevation points on nearby hill stations, notably Murree and Nathia Gali. The temperatures range from in January to in June. The highest recorded temperature was on 23 June 2005 while the lowest temperature was on 17 January 1967. Light snowfall sometimes happens on the peaks of the hills visible from the city, though this is rare. Snowfall does not occur in the city itself. On 23 July 2001, Islamabad received a record-breaking of rainfall in just 10 hours. It was the heaviest rainfall in Islamabad in the past 100 years and the highest rainfall in 24 hours as well. Water supply is strained, leading to project proposals like the Ghazi Barotha water supply project.
The local government authority of the city is the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) with some help from Capital Development Authority (CDA), which oversees the planning, development, construction, and administration of the city. Islamabad Capital Territory is divided into eight zones: Administrative Zone, Commercial District, Educational Sector, Industrial Sector, Diplomatic Enclave, Residential Areas, Rural Areas and Green Area. Islamabad city is divided into five major zones: Zone I, Zone II, Zone III, Zone IV, and Zone V. Out of these, Zone IV is the largest in area. Zone I consists mainly of all the developed residential sectors while Zone II consists of the under-developed residential sectors. Each residential sector is identified by a letter of the alphabet and a number, and covers an area of approximately 2 km × 2 km ( mi × mi). The sectors are lettered from A to I, and each sector is divided into four numbered sub-sectors.
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The H sectors are numbered H-8 through H-17. The H sectors are mostly dedicated to educational and health institutions. National University of Sciences and Technology covers a major portion of sector H-12. The I sectors are numbered from I-8 to I-18. With the exception of I-8, which is a well-developed residential area, these sectors are primarily part of the industrial zone. Two sub-sectors of I-9 and one sub-sector of I-10 are used as industrial areas. CDA is planning to set up Islamabad Railway Station in Sector I-18 and Industrial City in sector I-17. Zone III consists primarily of the Margalla Hills and Margalla Hills National Park. Rawal Lake is in this zone. Zone IV and V consist of Islamabad Park, and rural areas of the city. The Soan River flows into the city through Zone V.
Initially, it was proposed that the three areas would be connected by four major highways: Murree Highway, Islamabad Highway, Soan Highway, and Capital Highway. However, to date only two highways have been constructed: Kashmir Highway (the former Murree Highway) and Islamabad Highway. Plans of constructing Margalla Avenue are also underway. Islamabad is the hub all the governmental activities while Rawalpindi is the centre of all industrial, commercial, and military activities. The two cities are considered sister cities and are highly interdependent.
The murals on the inside of the large petals of Pakistan Monument are based on Islamic architecture. National Monument — a symbol of unity . Daily Times. 30 March. Retrieved 23 March 2008 The Shah Faisal Mosque is a fusion of contemporary architecture with a more traditional large triangular prayer hall and four minarets, designed by Vedat Dalokay, a Turkish architect and built with the help of funding provided by King Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
The architecture of Faisal Mosque is unusual as it lacks a dome structure. It is a combination of Arabic, Turkish, and Mughal architectural traditions. The Centaurus is an example of modern architecture under construction in Islamabad. The seven star hotel was designed by WS Atkins PLC.The newly built Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers is another example of modern architecture in the city.
According to the World Bank's Doing Business Report of 2010, Islamabad was ranked as the best place to start a business in Pakistan. Islamabad's businesses are Pakistan's most compliant for paying tax dues. , Islamabad LTU (Large Tax Unit) was responsible for Rs 371 billion in tax revenue, which amounts to 20% of all the revenue collected by Federal Board of Revenue.
Islamabad has seen an expansion in information and communications technology with the addition two science park, which house numerous national and foreign technological and information technology companies. Awami Markaz IT Park houses 36 IT companies, while Evacuee Trust house 29 companies. Islamabad will see its third IT Park by 2020, which will be built with assistance from South Korea.
Saidpur village is supposedly named after Said Khan, the son of Sarang Khan. The 500-year-old village was converted into a place of Hindu worship by a Mughal commander, Raja Man Singh. He constructed a number of small ponds: Rama kunda, Sita kunda, Lakshaman kunda, and Hanuman kunda. The region is home to a small Hindu temple that is preserved, showing the presence of Hindu people in the region. The shrine of Sufi mystic Pir Meher Ali Shah is located at Golra Sharif, which has a rich cultural heritage of the pre-Islamic period. Archaeological remains of the Buddhist era can also still be found in the region. The shrine of Bari Imam was built by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. Thousands of devotees from across Pakistan attend the annual Urs of Bari Imam. The event is one of the largest religious gatherings in Islamabad. In 2004, the Urs was attended by more than 1.2 million people.
The Lok Virsa Museum in Islamabad preserves a wide variety of expressions of folk and traditional cultural legacy of Pakistan. It is located near the Shakarparian hills and boasts a large display of embroidered costumes, jewellery, musical instruments, woodwork, utensils and folkloristic objects from the region and other parts of Pakistan.
One of the landmarks for tourists is the Pakistan Monument built in 2007 located in Islamabad. This tourist attraction represents the patriotism and sovereignty of Pakistan. The design is shaped as a dome with petal-shaped walls that are engraved with arts portraying Pakistan's other tourist landmarks such as the Badshahi Mosque, Minar-e-Pakistan and Lahore Fort.
Islamabad holds some of Pakistan's most prestigious museums such as Lok Virsa Museum, Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage Shakarparian Park and prominent galleries such as the National Art Gallery and Gallery 6.
The Islamabad Museum contains many relics and artifacts dating back to the Gandhara period of the region, an intriguing fusion of Buddhist and Graeco-Roman styles. The living culture of Islamabad and Pakistan is best explored at Lok Virsa Museum, as well as the Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage in Shakarparian Park.
Islamabad is built upon civilization and architecture that ranges from the 10th Century to the modern era. As Islamabad is situated on the Potohar Plateau, the remains of civilization descending from stone-age era include the Acheulian and the Soanian traditions and these are tourist landmarks. Islamabad has an array of historic landmarks that reflect the Hindu civilization that dates back to the 16th Century with examples such as Saidpur. Saidpur that is situated in Islamabad has progressed from a village to a sacred place that includes temples where the Hindu Mughal Commanders worshipped.
Margalla Hills National Park is located in the North sector of Islamabad and is in close proximity to the Himalayas. The National Park includes of picturesque valleys and scenic hills that include various wildlife such as Himalayan goral, Barking deer and leopards. Flanked by wildlife and vegetation, Margalla Hills National Park also includes accommodation and camping grounds for tourists.
Shah Allah Ditta village is a centuries-old village and a union council of the Islamabad Capital Authority. The village is named after a dervish who belonged to the Mughal era. It is estimated to be 650 years old approximately. It is also home to ancient caves that reflects the previous civilizations. The 2500-year-old Buddhist caves at the foot of Margalla Hills are located in west of Taxila, east of Islamabad and in the central area of Khanpur. A spring, a pond and a garden still exist near the Shah Allah Ditta Caves. There are some banyan trees in the garden, while all other fruit trees are gone. The water from the same spring was used to irrigate the garden adjoining the caves. During the Mughal period, when India was the centre of Sufism originating from Arabia and Central Asia, a saint named Shah Allah Ditta stayed in this garden and was entombed here. The place formerly attributed to sadhus, monks, or jogis is today known for the famous Sufi Shah Allah Ditta. A short distance from these caves is also an ancient baoli (stepwell) in the village of Kanthila, which is said to have been built by Sher Shah Suri.
The Gender Parity Index in Islamabad is 0.93 compared to the 0.95 national average. There are 178 boys-only institutes, 175 girls-only, and 551 mixed institutes in Islamabad. Total enrolment of students in all categories is 267,992; 138,272 for boys and 129,720 for girls. There are 16 recognized universities in Islamabad with a total enrolment of 372,974 students and 30,144 teachers. Most of the top ranked universities; National University of Sciences and Technology, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology and Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences, also have their headquarters in the capital. The world's second largest general university by enrolment, Allama Iqbal Open University is located in Islamabad for distance education. Other universities include Air University, Bahria University, Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Hamdard University, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Capital University of Science & Technology, National Defence University, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, National University of Modern Languages, Iqra University, International Islamic University, Virtual University of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, The University of Lahore, Abasyn University, and The Millennium University College.
The Children's Hospital is a 230-bed hospital completed in 1985. It contains six major facilities: Surgical and Allied Specialties, Medical and Allied Specialties, Diagnostic Facilities, Operation Theatre, Critical Care (NICU, PICU, Isolation & Accident Emergency), and a Blood Bank. The Maternal and Child Health Care Center is a training institute with an attached hospital of 125 beds offering different clinical and operational services. PIMS consists of five academic institutes: Quaid-e-Azam Postgraduate Medical College, College of Nursing, College of Medical Technology, School of Nursing, and Mother and Child Health Center.
PAEC General Hospital and teaching institute, established in 2006, is affiliated with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The hospital consists of a 100-bed facility and 10 major departments: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatric, General Medicine, General Surgery, Intensive Care Unit/Coronary Care Unit, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Radiology, and Dentistry Department. Shifa International Hospital is a teaching hospital in Islamabad that was founded in 1987 and became a public company in 1989. The hospital has 70 qualified consultants in almost all specialties, 150 IPD beds and OPD facilities in 35 different specialisations. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics of the Government of Pakistan, in 2008 there were 12 hospitals, 76 dispensaries, and five maternity and child welfare centers in the city with a total of 5,158 beds.
There is another multipurpose sports complex in the F6 Markaz. It has tennis courts, a basketball court with fibre-glass boards and a Futsal ground which introduced artificial turf to the people of Islamabad.
Major sports in the city include cricket, football, squash, field hockey, table tennis, rugby and boxing. The city is home to Islamabad United which won the first ever Pakistan Super League in 2016 and second title in 2018, and Islamabad All Stars, which participates in the Super Kabaddi League.
Islamabad also has various rock climbing spots in the Margalla Hills.
The Pakistan Sports Complex has three swimming pools for children. These facilities attract a large gathering on weekends.
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