Islamabad

The name Islamabad means 'City of Islam'. It is derived from two words: Islam and abad. The Arabic word Islam means 'submission [to God]' as it refers to the religion of Islam, Pakistan's state religion, and the Persian suffix -abad means 'cultivated place', indicating an inhabited place or city. During the course of the early modern period, the name was used in the Mughal era by the emperor Aurangzeb, who named many towns in the Indian subcontinent after it. According to a history book by Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh, teacher and poet Qazi Abdur Rehman Amritsari proposed the name of the city.

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. Some of the earliest Stone Age artifacts in the world have been found on the plateau, dating from 100,000 to 500,000 years ago. Rudimentary stones recovered from the terraces of the Soan River testify to the endeavours of early man in the inter-glacial period. Items of pottery and utensils dating back to prehistory have been found. 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 5000 BCE that, indicating the region was home to Neolithic peoples who settled on the banks of the Soan and who later developed small communities in the region around 3000 BCE. …

Islamabad lies about 540 metres (1,770 ft) above sea level at the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau and at the foot of the Margalla Hills in Islamabad Capital Territory. The modern capital and the ancient Gakhar city of Rawalpindi form a conurbation and are commonly referred to as the Twin Cities. To the northeast of the city lies the colonial–era hill station of Murree, and to the north lies the Haripur District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kahuta lies to 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. Islamabad is located 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Muzaffarabad, 185 kilometres (115 mi) east of Peshawar and 295 kilometres (183 mi) northwest of Lahore. Islamabad covers an area of 906 square kilometres (350 sq mi). …

Islamabad is home to many settlers 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 civilisations such as Aryan, Soanian, and Indus Valley civilisation can still be found in the region. Pharwala Fort, built by Gakhars in the 15th century, is located near Islamabad. The 16th-century Rawat Fort, also built by the Gakhars, contains the grave of their chief Sultan Sarang Khan. Saidpur village is supposedly named after Said Khan, the son of Sarang Khan. The 500-year-old village was converted into a place of Hindu worship by a Mughal commander, Raja Man Singh. He constructed a number of small ponds: Rama kunda, Sita kunda, Lakshaman kunda, and Hanuman kunda. …

Islamabad is a net 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, and was merged to form Pakistan Stock Exchange. The exchange had 118 members with 104 corporate bodies and 18 individual members. The average daily turnover of the stock exchange is over 1 million shares. According to the World Bank's Doing Business Report of 2010, Islamabad was ranked as the best place to start a business in Pakistan. Islamabad's businesses are Pakistan's most compliant for paying tax dues. As of 2012, Islamabad LTU (Large Tax Unit) was responsible for Rs 371 billion in tax revenue, which amounts to 20% of all the revenue collected by Federal Board of Revenue. …

The Faisal Mosque, built in 1986, is an iconic cultural and religious landmark that attracts many tourists; both domestic and international due to its modern interpertation of Islamic architecture designed by the Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay, as well as its location at the foothills of the Margalla Hills. The mosque was named after Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, the then-King of Saudi Arabia to honour him for his role in financing the construction of the mosque. The mosque itself can host up to 74,000 worshippers at a time and its interior is decorated with Islamic calligraphy of verses from the Quran. One of the landmarks for tourists is the Pakistan Monument built in 2007 located in Islamabad. This tourist attraction represents the patriotism and sovereignty of Pakistan. …