An OvervIew of Shahdara Velly Islamabad Pakistan: February 2013

Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan located near Rawalpindi Punjab. Islamabad Capital Territory is the eighth largest City in Pakistan. Islamabad population increases day by day. According to Survey in 2012 about 1.5 million people lived in Capital of Pakistan. Islamabad-Rawalpindi Metropolitan Area is the third largest conurbation in Pakistan with a population of over 4.5 million inhabitants.

The city was built during the 1960s to replace Karachi as Pakistan's capital. Islamabad is a well-organized international city divided into several different sectors and zones. Islamabad is located in the Pothohar Plateau in the northeastern part of the Pakistan, within the Islamabad Capital Territory. The region has historically been a part of the crossroads of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Margalla Hills pass acting as the gateway between the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Islamabad is considered a Most developed and modern city of Pakistan and ranked as a Gamma- world city (Globalization and World Cities (GaWC)). Faisal Mosque is the largest Mosque in the Asia also located in Islamabad. Faisal Mosque is the 4^th largest Mosque in the world.

Islamabad is also known as an Education City in the country. Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan and is home to the some of the top-ranked universities in Pakistan, including Quaid-i-Azam University, Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences, COMSATS Institute of information technology and National University of Sciences and Technology, Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad is one of the world's largest universities by enrollment.

The modern capital and the ancient Gakhar city of Rawalpindi stand side by side and are commonly referred to as the Twin Cities. Islamabad is located at 33.43°N 73.04°E at the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the Margalla Hills in Islamabad Capital Territory. Its elevation is 540 metres (1,770 ft).

Islamabad is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) SSW of Muzaffarabad, 185 kilometres (115 mi) east of Peshawar, 295 kilometres (183 mi) NNE of Lahore, and 300 kilometres (190 mi) WSW of Srinagar, the capital of Indian Kashmir.

To the northeast of the city lies the hill station of Murree, and to the north lies the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kahuta lies on the southeast, Taxila, Wah Cantt, and Attock District to the northwest, Gujar Khan, Rawat, and Mandrah on the southeast, and the metropolis of Rawalpindi to the south and southwest.

MASTER MAP OF ISLAMABAD PAKISTAN

Islamabad Capital Territory is divided into eight zones: Administrative Zone, Commercial District, Educational Sector, Industrial Sector, Diplomatic Enclave, Residential Areas, Rural Areas and Green Area.

Islamabad Capital Territory, Islamabad is divided into five major zones,

Zone I, Zone II, Zone III, Zone IV, and Zone V.

· Zone I consists mainly of all the developed residential sectors.

· Zone II consists of the under-developed residential sectors. Each residential sector is identified by letter of the alphabet and a number, and covers an area of approximately 2 km × 2 km (1 ¹⁄₄ mi × 1 ¹⁄₄ mi). The sectors are lettered from A to I, and each sector is divided into four numbered sub-sectors.

· Zone III consist of Margalla hills and Considered as a green belts.

· Zone IV is the largest in area.

· Zone V is the Additional Institutional and Residential Area.

Islamabad is contributor to the Pakistani economy, as whilst having only 0.8% of the country's population, it contributes 1% to the country's GDP. Islamabad Stock Exchange, founded in 1989, is Pakistan's third largest stock exchange after Karachi Stock Exchange and Lahore Stock Exchange. The exchange has 118 members with 104 corporate bodies and 18 individual members. The average daily turnover of the stock exchange is over 1 million shares. Islamabad is home to many migrants from other regions of Pakistan and has a cultural and religious diversity of considerable antiquity. Due to its location on the Pothohar Plateau, remnants of ancient cultures and civilizations such as Aryan, Soanian, and Indus Valley civilization can still be found in the region. Urdu, the national and first official language of the country, is predominantly spoken within the city due to the ethnic mix of populations. English is widely used & is also commonly understood. Other languages include Punjabi, Pashto and Pothohari. The mother tongue of the majority of the population is Punjabi, at 68%. 15% of the population are native Sindhi speakers, 10% are native Pashto speakers, and 8% other languages.