Islamabad, the present capital of Pakistan, is situated on the northwest side of the country. Home to .95 million people, although Islamabad is a new city, it is very well planned. Karachi being situated in the southern portion of the country created problems for business and investment. In addition, the Muslim immigrants from India were becoming dominant in that area. So, the Pakistani leaders decided to shift the capital to the Northern region. During the reign of Ayub Khan, Rawalpindi was chosen as the capital. In 1967, the capital was moved to Islamabad.
The total area of Islamabad city is 350 square miles. Famous Greek urban planner, Constantinos A. Doxiadis, designed this city. From the beginning, a good portion of the city area was devoted to natural greenery. The total city area is divided into eight zones.
Located in the Potohar plateau, Islamabad is situated by the side of Gakhar, an ancient city. Due to the green trees and artificial lakes, the climate of the city remains mild. There are three artificial lakes inside the city: Rawal, Simli, and Khanpur. The duration of summer season is four months: June to September. Winter season starts from October and stays till May.
Because of its natural greenery and parks, Islamabad looks very attractive. In all the eight zones, there are public parks and markets. Among various tourist spots there are: Daman-e-Koh viewpoint, Shakarparian park, Rose and Jasmine garden, Parliament House, Secretariat blocks, Rawal Lake and Shah Faisal Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world.
Some of the best educational institutions are situated in Islamabad. Quaid-e-Azam University, International Islamic University, National University of Science and Technology, AIR University and many other reputed institutions are situated in this city.
The transportation system of the city is very developed. Two major motorways: M1 and M2, connect the city with other major cities like Lahore, Peshawar and Faisalabad. Islamabad International Airport is one of the major airports of the country.
This is really interesting. I have an old friend who lives there. For some reason I thought the population was much higher than that.
Posted by: Matt D | October 14, 2006 4:26 PM | Permalink to Comment