Built as a planned city in the s and established in , it replaced Karachi as Pakistan's national capital. The Greek architect Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis developed Islamabad's master plan , in which he divided it into eight zones; the city comprises administrative, diplomatic enclave , residential areas, educational and industrial sectors, commercial areas, as well as rural and green areas administered by the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation with support from the Capital Development Authority.
Islamabad is known for its parks and forests, including the Margalla Hills National Park and the Shakarparian. Other prominent landmarks include the Pakistan Monument and Democracy Square. The city's populace is dominated by both middle and upper-middle class citizens. The name Islamabad means City of Islam. It is derived from two words: Islam and abad. Islam refers to the religion of Islam , Pakistan's state religion , and -abad is a Persian suffix meaning cultivated place , indicating an inhabited place or city.
Occasionally in writing, Islamabad is colloquially abbreviated ISB. Islamabad Capital Territory , located on the Pothohar Plateau of the northern Punjab region , is considered one of the earliest sites of human settlement in Asia. Rudimentary stones recovered from the terraces of the Soan River testify to the endeavours of early man in the inter-glacial period.
Excavations by Dr. Abdul Ghafoor Lone reveal evidence of a prehistoric culture in the area. Relics and human skulls have been found dating back to BCE that indicate the region was home to Neolithic peoples who settled on the banks of the Soan [ 22 ] and who later developed small communities in the region around BCE. Later the area was an early settlement of the Aryan community which migrated into the region from Central Asia.
When Pakistan gained independence in , the southern port city of Karachi was its provisional national capital. In , a commission was constituted to select a suitable site near Rawalpindi for the national capital with particular emphasis on location, climate, logistics, and defence requirements, along with other attributes. After extensive study, research, and a thorough review of potential sites, the commission recommended the area northeast of Rawalpindi in which was used as provisional capital from that year on.
