Islamabad

Islamabad

‫االسمآابد‬

Federal capital city

 Left-to-right from top:
Faisal Mosque, Pakistan Monument, Parliament of Pakistan, Islamabad
Expressway, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Baradari at Fatima Jinnah Park

Nickname(s):

Isloo, The Green City

Islamabad

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Coordinates: 33°41′35″N 73°03′50″ECoordinates:

33°41′35″N 73°03′50″E

Country Pakistan
Adm. Unit Islamabad Capital Territory

Constructed 1960
Established 14 August 1967; 55 years ago[1]

Government
• Type Metropolitan Corporation
• Mayor None (vacant)[a]
• Deputy Mayor None (vacant)
• Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon

Area
[3]

• City 220 km2 (80 sq mi)

• Urban 220.15 km2 (85.00 sq mi)
 • Metro 1,165.5 km2 (450.0 sq mi)

Highest elevation 1,584 m (5,196 ft)

Lowest elevation 490 m (1,610 ft)

Population
(2017)[5]
• City 1,009,832
• Rank 9th (Pakistan)
• Density 2,089/km2 (5,410/sq mi)
• Metro 2,003,368[4]
• Rank (Metro) 4th (Pakistan)

Demonym Islamabadi[6]

Time zone UTC+05:00 (PKT)

Postcode 44000
Area code 051

Website ictadministration.gov.pk

Islamabad (/ɪzˈlɑːməbæd/ ( listen);[7] Urdu: ‫االسمآابد‬, Islām-ābād) is the capital city

of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2
million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of
the Islamabad Capital Territory. Built as a planned city in the 1960s, it
replaced Rawalpindi as Pakistan's national capital. The city is notable for its high
standards of living,[8] safety,[9] cleanliness, and abundant greenery.[10]
Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis developed Islamabad's master
plan, in which he divided it into eight zones; 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 the
presence of several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and
the Shakarparian.[11] It is home to several landmarks, including the country's
flagship Faisal Mosque, which is the world's fifth-largest mosque. Other prominent
landmarks include the Pakistan Monument and Democracy Square.[12][13][14]
Rated as Gamma + by the Globalization and World Cities Research
Network,[15] Islamabad has the highest cost of living in Pakistan. The city's populace
is dominated by both middle and upper-middle class citizens.[8][16]
Islamabad is home to twenty universities, including Bahria University, Quaid-e-Azam
University, PIEAS, COMSATS University, and NUST.[17] It is also rated as one of the
safest cities in Pakistan, and has an expansive RFID-enabled surveillance system
with almost 2000 active CCTV cameras.[9][18]

Toponymy
The name Islamabad means City of Islam. It is derived from two
words: Islam and abad. Islam refers to the religion of Islam, Pakistan's state religion,
and -abad is a Persian suffix meaning cultivated place, indicating an inhabited place
or city.[19] According to a history book by Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh, a school teacher
from Arifwala known as Qazi Abdur Rehman Amritsari proposed the name of the
city.[20][21]
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.

History
Main article: History of Islamabad
Early history
Islamabad Capital Territory, located on the Pothohar Plateau of the northern Punjab
region, is considered one of the earliest sites of human settlement in Asia. [22] Some of
the earliest Stone Age artefacts in the world have been found on the plateau, dating
from 100,000 to 500,000 years ago. Rudimentary stones recovered from the terraces
of the Soan River testify to the endeavours of early man in the inter-
glacial period.[23] Items of pottery and utensils dating back to prehistory have been
found.[24]
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 Swaan River,[22] and who later developed small communities in the region around
3000 BCE.[23][25]
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.[22] 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.[22] 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 in which
unearthed the remains of a Buddhist stupa at Ban Faqiran, near the Shah Allah
Ditta caves, which was dated to the 2nd to the 5th century CE.[26]