Islamabad

Islamabad

Islamabad (ĭsˌləməbädˈ, ĭslămˈ–), city and capital territory (2017 provisional pop. 2,006,572), capital of Pakistan, NE Pakistan, just NE of Rawalpindi, the former interim capital. Construction of Islamabad [city of Islam] as the capital, replacing Karachi, began in 1960. There are light manufacturing industries. Points of interest include Pakistan House, the home of the president; the national assembly building; the National Univ.; the Grand National Mosque; and the botanical gardens. The nearby Murree Hills serve as a summer resort as well as summer headquarters for many diplomatic missions. Also near the city are the historical ruins of Taxila.

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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Islamabad

 

the capital of Pakistan.

Islamabad is situated on the Potwar Plateau near the foothills of the Himalayas, in a valley at an altitude of 550 m. The city is well sited for transportation and has a good climate, with a temperature maximum of 39°C in July and a minimum of 3°C in January. Islamabad is the center of its own capital district. Population, 100,000 (1970), an increase of 50,000 over 1965.

The decision to build a new capital for Pakistan was taken by the government in 1959, the city plan was ready in 1960, and building commenced in 1961 at a site 28 km from the former capital, Rawalpindi. Layout and construction are being handled by foreign and Pakistani architects from plans produced by the firm of the Greek architect C.A. Doxiadis. Combining the characteristics of a modern European city with local architectural features, Islamabad has a regular layout and is zoned: there are business, government, and diplomatic sections, along with residential neighborhoods with flat-roofed houses of one and two stories, districts of handicraft production and light industry, and a greenbelt area. A hotel, the Scheherazade (Italian architect G. Ponti), and the Grand National Mosque have now been built; construction of the parliament building (Danish architect A. Jacobsen) began in 1972.

Of the city’s scientific and cultural institutions, the Pakistani Atomic Research Institute, the Islamic Studies Institute, and the National Library were functioning in 1971.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Islamabad

the capital of Pakistan, in the north on the Potwar Plateau: site chosen in 1959; surrounded by the Capital Territory of Islamabad for 909 sq. km (351 sq. miles). Pop.: 770 000 (2005 est.)

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005