Islamabad (help·info) (Urdu: اسلام آباد) Islāmabād (Meaning "Abode of Islam") is the capital of Pakistan, and is the tenth largest city in Pakistan. The Rawalpindi/Islamabad metropolitan area is the third largest in Pakistan with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants, 1.5 million in Islamabad and three million in Rawalpindi.
Islamabad is located in the Potohar Plateau in the north of the country, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province, Margalla pass being a gateway to the North-West Frontier Province.
The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. However the capital was not moved directly from Karachi to Islamabad but first moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi then to Islamabad. The development of the country was focused on Karachi and President Ayub Khan wanted it to be equally distributed.
Islamabad is one of the greenest and well-planned cities of South Asia. The city is well-organized and divided into different sectors and zones. Islamabad is also home to the Faisal Masjid which is well known for its architecture and immense size. Islamabad has been ranked as a Gamma world city, as of 2008
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