ISLAMABAD

Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is a well-planned and lush green city known for its modern infrastructure, high standard of living, and iconic landmarks like Faisal Mosque and the Pakistan Monument. With a population of over 1 million people, it is a hub for politics, economy, and a blend of contemporary design and rich history.

Türkiye

Country

1,014,825

Population

Introduction
  • Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan, and is federally administered as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Islamabad is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, while the larger Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the country's fourth largest with a population of about 7.4 million.Built as a planned city in the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital, Islamabad is noted for its high standards of living, safety, and abundant greenery. 
  • The city is the political seat of Pakistan and the local government setup is run by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation, supported by the Capital Development Authority. Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the northeastern part of the country, between Rawalpindi District and the Margalla Hills National Park to the north. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the Margalla Pass acting as the gateway between the two regions.
  • The city's master-plan, designed by Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis, divides the city into eight zones, including administrative, diplomatic enclave, residential areas, educational sectors, industrial sectors, commercial areas, and rural and green areas.
  •  The city is known for the presence of several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and Shakarparian Park. The city is home to several landmarks, including the Faisal Mosque, the largest mosque in South Asia and the fourth largest in the world. 
  • Other landmarks include the Pakistan's National Monument and Democracy Square.Islamabad is a gamma-global city; it is categorised as Medium on the Human Development Index, with an HDI of 0.678, the highest in the country.
  •  Its life expectancy at 70.77 years, as of 2018, is also higher than the Pakistan average of 67.11. Furthermore, it also has the highest per capita income in the country at GNI Per capita US$8,527 as of 2018 . The city has the highest cost of living in Pakistan, and its population is dominated by middle and upper middle class citizens. Being an expensive city, the prices of most fruits, vegetable and poultry items increased in Islamabad during the year 2015-2020The city is home to twenty universities, including the Bahria University, Quaid-e-Azam University, PIEAS, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology and NUST. The city is one of the safest in Pakistan, and has an expansive surveillance system with 1,900 CCTV cameras.

 

Data and Facts

The total land area of Islamabad is 350 square miles (906 square kilometres); population was 1.015 million in 2017
Islamabad is located 1,770 ft above sea level
Despite being founded as a city a mere 56 years ago, Islamabad is actually one of the earliest known human settlements in Asia and boasts some of the earliest stone age artefacts in the world, dating back more than 500,000 years
Pakistanis living in Islamabad enjoy a humid subtropical climate with five seasons (winter, spring, summer, rainy monsoon and autumn) and an average annual temperature of 21°C
Pakistan welcomed 966,000 tourists into the country in 2012, many of whom visited Islamabad for its cosmopolitan vibe and urban-meets-countryside lifestyle
Census in Pakistan is conducted after every 10 years and the last one was done in 2017. According to the 2017 census, Islamabad had a population of 1,014,825. The city is known for its high standard of living, safety, and abundant greenery. The literacy rate of Islamabad is 88%, which is higher than any other city in Pakistan. English, being the official language of Pakistan, is widely spoken and understood, while Urdu is also commonly spoken. Other languages spoken include Punjabi and Pashto. The city is home to several parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and Shakarparian Park. The city is recognized as a clean, calm, and serene city by the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency.

Administration

The Islamabad Capital Territory Administration, generally known as ICT Administration or Islamabad Administration, is the civil administration as well as the main law and order agency of the Federal Capital. The local government authority of the city is the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation with some help from the Capital Development Authority , 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 . The sectors are lettered from A to I, and each sector is divided into four numbered sub-sectors.

Series A, B, and C are still underdeveloped. The D series has seven sectors , of which only sector D-12 is completely developed. Sectors E-8 and E-9 contain the campuses of Bahria University, Air University, and the National Defence University. The F and G series contains the most developed sectors. F series contains sectors F-5 to F-17; some sectors are still under-developed. F-5 is an important sector for the software industry in Islamabad, as the two software technology parks are located here. The entire F-9 sector is covered with Fatima Jinnah Park. The Centaurus complex is a major landmark of the F-8 sector. G sectors are numbered G-5 through G-17. Some important places include the Jinnah Convention Centre and Serena Hotel in G-5, the Red Mosque in G-6, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the largest medical complex in the capital, located in G-8, and the Karachi Company shopping center in G-9.

The H sectors are numbered H-8 through H-17. With the exception of I-8, which is a well-developed residential area, these sectors are primarily part of the industrial zone. Currently 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.

When the master plan for Islamabad was drawn up in 1960, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, along with the adjoining areas, was to be integrated to form a large metropolitan area called Islamabad/Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area. The area would consist of the developing Islamabad, the old colonial cantonment city of Rawalpindi, and Margalla Hills National Park, including surrounding rural areas.However, Islamabad city is part of the Islamabad Capital Territory, while Rawalpindi is part of Rawalpindi District, which is part of province of Punjab .Initially, it was proposed that the three areas would be connected by four major highways: Murree Highway, Islamabad Highway, Soan Highway, and Capital Highway.

 

Economy

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and a net contributor to the Pakistani economy. Whilst having only 0.8% of the country's population, it contributes 1% to the country's GDP. The Islamabad Stock Exchange, founded in 1989, is Pakistan's third largest stock exchange after Karachi Stock Exchange and Lahore Stock Exchange. The exchange has 118 members with 104 corporate bodies and 18 individual members. The average daily turnover of the stock exchange is over 1 million shares. As of 2012, Islamabad LTU (Large Tax Unit) was responsible for Rs 371 billion in tax revenue, which amounts to 20% of all the revenue collected by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) as of 2012.Islamabad has seen an expansion in information and communications technology with the addition three Software Technology Parks which house numerous national and foreign technological and IT companies. The tech parks are located in Evacuee Trust Complex, Awami Markaz and I-9 sector. Awami Markaz houses 36 IT companies while Evacuee Trust house 29 companies.

Call centers for foreign companies have been targeted as another significant area of growth, with the government making efforts to reduce taxes by as much as 10% in order to encourage foreign investments in the IT sector. Most of Pakistan's state-owned companies like Pakistan International Airlines, PTV, PTCL, OGDCL, and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd. are based in Islamabad. The city is home to many branches of Karachi-based companies, banks, and TV channels. Headquarters of all major telecommunication operators such as PTCL, Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, China Mobile and are located in Islamabad. Being an expensive city, the prices of most of fruits, vegetable and poultry items increased in Islamabad during the years 2015-2020.

 

Infrastructure

Islamabad is connected to major destinations around the world through Benazir Bhutto International Airport, previously known as Islamabad International Airport. The airport is the third largest in Pakistan and is located outside Islamabad, in Chaklala, Rawalpindi. In fiscal year 2004–2005, over 2.88 million passengers used Benazir Bhutto International Airport and 23,436 aircraft movements were registered. Gandhara International Airport is under construction at Fateh Jang to cope with the increasing number of passengers. When completed in August 2017, the airport will be the largest in Pakistan. The airport will be built at a cost of $400 million and will be completed by mid-2017. All major cities and towns are accessible through regular trains and bus services running mostly from the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. Lahore and Peshawar are linked to Islamabad through a network of motorways which has resulted in a significant reduction in travelling times between these cities. M-2 Motorway is 367 km long and connect Islamabad and Lahore. M-1 Motorway connects Islamabad with Peshawar and is 155 km long. Islamabad is linked to its 'Father' city Rawalpindi through the Faizabad Interchange, the first cloverleaf interchange in Pakistan with a daily traffic volume of about 48,000 vehicles.

The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a 24 km bus rapid transit system that serves the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Pakistan. This service covers a huge distance from city Saddar, Rawalpindi to Pak-Secretariat, Islamabad. This service is very reliable and consistent, and the labour force as well as students are using this government provided service on a daily basis. It has reduced the time consumption by reducing the route. Now this bus service is being extended to more areas in Islamabad that include areas near G-13 and H-12. Work is currently being done to keep it along the Kashmir Highway.People use private transport like Taxis, Careem, Uber, Bykea, and SWVL for local journeys. In March 2016, Careem became functional in Islamabad and Rawalpindi with taxi services.M-2 Motorway is 367 km long and connect Islamabad and Lahore.
 

Region
Islamabad Capital Territory
District
NA
Government Type
Federal Government
Area
• Total Area
906 sq km
• Center Area
120 sq km
• Grand City Area
220 sq km
Time Zone
Pakistan Standard Time
Area Code
051
Postal Code
44000
Social Media
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