Islamabad

Islamabad is the new capital of Pakistan, a planned city built in the 1960s to move government functions from the largest city, Karachi. Then-President Ayub Khan ordered the move to equalize development across the country.

While it is in a capital district, it is at the intersection of Punjab Province and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), in the Potohar Plateau in the north of Pakistan. Margalla Pass leads to the NWFP. Karachi, in contrast, is a port on the west coast. Its sister city is Rawalpindi, which was the transitional capital to which functions were moved from Karachi.

It is organized into eight zones:

• Administrative
• Commercial
• Educational
• Diplomatic
• Green
• Industrial
• Residential
• Rural