Islamabad
Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, is located against the backdrop of Margalla Hills at the northern edge of Potohar Plateau. In contrast to its twin city Rawalpindi, it is lush green, spacious and peaceful.
Islamabad (City of Islam, or City of Peace) is a city of wide, tree-lined streets, large houses, elegant public buildings and well-organised bazaars. Traffic jams and crowds are rare, and narrow lanes and slums are few and far between. Sidewalks are shaded and safe behind rows of flame trees, jacaranda and hibiscus. Roses, jasmine and bougainvillaea fill the many parks, and scenic view-points show the city to its best advantage.
In 1959 the site of Islamabad was chosen to replace Karachi as the capital of Pakistan. The master plan of this modern city was prepared in 1960 by M/s. Constantinos Doxiades, a Greek firm of Architects. Construction was started in October 1961, and the city came into life on 26 October, 1966, when the first office building of Islamabad was occupied. In 1967 Islamabad was officially made the capital, and work on the city's principal buildings, streets, and facilities was completed by the mid-1970s.
The Secretariat Blocks are the administrative and policy planning nerve center of the country. These four to six storied buildings cover an area of 92,900 square meters.
The palatial PM's secretariat, constructed at the Constitution Avenue with a total cost of one billion rupees, was handed over to Prime Minister Sharif on 14 August 1997, the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Pakistan. The work on the building, spread over an area of 40,000 square meters, was started in 1993.
The Aiwan-e-Sadar (Presidency) is the official residence of the Head of State. The site is spread over an area of 20 acres, with the buildings covering over 30,000 square meters. The Parliament building is 5 stories tall, and includes both Houses of Parliament with a built up area of over 55,000 square meter including offices, committee rooms, libraries and cafeterias.
The city is divided into eight largely self-contained zones, each characterized by its predominant usages (such as for government, the diplomatic enclave, the commercial district, the educational sector, the industrial areacommerce, light industry, residential areas and so on) each with its own shopping area and park. It is a modern and carefully planned city. There are ample opportunities for walking, jogging, hiking and trekking around Islamabad in the Margalla Hills range, which offers excellent opportunities for short and long hikes with magnificent vistas opening up on all sides. A network of trails having more then 120 kms total length has been developed.
Sources and Resources
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
