Editing Islamabad (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of Islamabad}}

===Early history===
[[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]] artefacts 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 [[glacial period|inter-glacial]] period.<ref name="defence"/> Items of pottery and utensils dating back to prehistory have been found.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://beta.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/16-sacred-rocks-of-islamabad-hs-10 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20090807034256/http://beta.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/16-sacred-rocks-of-islamabad-hs-10 |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 August 2009 |title=Sacred rocks of Islamabad |work=Dawn |date=2 August 2009 |access-date=27 June 2010 }}</ref>

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 indicate the region was home to [[Neolithic]] peoples who settled on the banks of the Soan<ref name="Pakistan net">{{cite web|title=Islamabad history |publisher=Pakistan.net |url=http://www.pakistan.net/cities/islamabad/islamabad.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630100106/http://www.pakistan.net/cities/islamabad/islamabad.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2008 }}</ref> and who later developed small communities in the region around 3000 BCE.<ref name="defence">{{cite web|title=Potohar|author=Pakistan Defence Ministry|url=http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-history/3753-potohar.html|access-date=29 August 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106014747/http://www.defence.pk/forums/military-history/3753-potohar.html|archive-date=6 November 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Background on the Potohar Plateau |author=LEAD |url=http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=71 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720192217/http://casestudies.lead.org/index.php?cscid=71 |archive-date=20 July 2011 }}</ref>

The [[Indus Valley civilization]] flourished in the region between the 23rd and 18th centuries BCE. Later the area was an early settlement of the [[Aryan]] community [[Indo-Aryan migrations|which migrated]] into the region from [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Pakistan net"/> Many great armies such as those of [[Zahiruddin Babur]], [[Genghis Khan]], [[Timur]] and [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] crossed the region during their invasions of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="Pakistan net"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-27 |title=Saidpur Village – a witness to history |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/1073941/saidpur-village-a-witness-to-history |access-date=2023-05-21 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en |archive-date=18 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118145357/https://tribune.com.pk/story/1073941/saidpur-village-a-witness-to-history |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015–16, the Federal Department of Archaeology and Museums, with the financial support of National Fund for Cultural Heritage, carried out initial archaeological excavations in which unearthed the remains of a Buddhist stupa at Ban Faqiran, near the [[Shah Allah Ditta]] caves, which was dated to the 2nd to the 4th century CE.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Taxila: Mughal-era coin & 'longest staircase' unearthed near Ban Faqiran|last=Amjid|first=Iqbal|date=29 February 2016|work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]] |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1242553#:~:text=TAXILA%3A%20During%20an%20excavation%20at,discovered%20in%20Gandhara%20and%20Taxila.}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="120px" widths="px">
File:Gate of Pharwala Fort toward the Swaan stream.JPG|15th-century [[Pharwala|Pharwala Fort]] beside the [[Swaan River]]
File:Shah_Allah_Ditta_caves_2.JPG|The caves at [[Shah Allah Ditta]], on Islamabad's outskirts, were part of an ancient Buddhist monastic community
File:Saidpur 1.jpg|The restored village of [[Saidpur, Islamabad|Saidpur]] predates the surrounding city of Islamabad
</gallery>

===Construction and development===
{{Main|Developments in Islamabad}}
When Pakistan gained independence in 1947, the southern port city of [[Karachi]] was its provisional national capital. In 1958, 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 1959 which was used as provisional capital from that year on.<ref name="New Orient"/><ref name="M. Bloom">{{cite book|title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=USA|isbn=978-0195309911|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=un4WcfEASZwC&pg=RA1-PA309|editor=Jonathan M. Bloom|editor2=Sheila Blair |editor1-link=Jonathan M. Bloom |editor2-link=Sheila Blair|page=309|date=23 March 2009}}</ref> In the 1960s, Islamabad was constructed as a [[Capital city#capital as symbol|forward capital]] for several reasons.<ref>{{cite web|title=City of Islamabad |url=http://www.islamabad.gov.pk/islamabad/default.asp |publisher=Capital Development Authority, Govt. of Pakistan |access-date=17 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012210555/http://www.islamabad.gov.pk/islamabad/default.asp |archive-date=12 October 2014 }}</ref> Karachi was also located at the southern end of the country, and exposed to attacks from the [[Arabian Sea]]. Pakistan needed a capital that was easily accessible from all parts of the country.<ref name="New Orient">{{cite journal|title=New Orient|year=1965|volume=4–6|page=565|journal=Czechoslovak Society for Eastern Studies|location=Prague|issn=0548-6408|oclc=2264893}}</ref><ref name=Weightman>{{cite book|title=Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East, and Southeast Asia|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0470876282|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qeBfed17zxEC&pg=PA187|author=Barbara A. Weightman|edition=3rd|page=187|date=15 March 2011}}</ref> Karachi, a business centre, was also considered unsuitable partly because of intervention of business interests in government affairs.<ref name=Saxon/> The newly selected location of Islamabad was closer to the [[General Headquarters (Pakistan Army)|army headquarters]] in Rawalpindi and the disputed territory of [[Kashmir]] in the north.<ref name="Pakistan net"/>

A Greek firm of architects, led by [[Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis]], designed the master plan of the city based on a [[grid plan]] which was triangular in shape with its apex towards the [[Margalla Hills]]. The capital was not moved directly from Karachi to Islamabad; it was first shifted temporarily to Rawalpindi in the early 1960s and then to Islamabad when essential development work was completed in 1966.<ref name="Maneesha Tikekar">{{cite book|title=Across the Wagah: An Indian's Sojourn in Pakistan|publisher=Promilla|isbn=978-8185002347|pages=23–62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HGqsWktyFcEC&pg=PA23|author=Maneesha Tikekar|date=1 January 2004}}</ref> In 1981, Islamabad separated from Punjab province to form Capital Territory. Such world-renowned architects as  [[Edward Durell Stone]] and [[Gio Ponti]] have been associated with the city's development.<ref name="britannica" />

===Recent history===
[[File:Islamabad Metro Bus.JPG|thumb|The [[Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus]] was built in 2015 to connect Islamabad with neighbouring [[Rawalpindi]].]]
Islamabad has attracted people from all over Pakistan, making it one of the most cosmopolitan and urbanised cities of Pakistan. As the capital city it has hosted numerous important meetings, such as the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] summit in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Islamabad making history|author=DAWN News|url=http://www.dawn.com/2004/01/04/top5.htm|date=4 January 2004|access-date=29 September 2009|archive-date=13 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013071727/http://www.dawn.com/2004/01/04/top5.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city suffered damage from the [[2005 Kashmir earthquake]] which had a magnitude of 7.6.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4323008.stm|title=Quake's terrible toll is revealed|date=9 October 2005|access-date=5 May 2010|work=BBC News|archive-date=24 February 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224145831/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4323008.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Islamabad has experienced a series of terrorist incidents including the July 2007 [[Siege of Lal Masjid]] (Red Mosque), the June 2008 [[2008 Danish embassy bombing in Islamabad|Danish embassy bombing]], and the September 2008 [[Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing|Marriott bombing]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=383721&rel_no=1|title=Timeline of Suicide Blasts in Islamabad|author=OhmyNews|access-date=25 October 2009|archive-date=19 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119160136/http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?menu=c10400&no=383721&rel_no=1|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2011, four terrorism incidents occurred in the city, killing four people, including the murder of the Punjab Governor [[Salmaan Taseer]].<ref name="2011 terrorism">{{cite news|url=http://dawn.com/2012/01/05/islamabad-saw-four-terror-attacks-last-year/|title=Islamabad saw four terror attacks last year|author=Munawer Azeem|date=5 January 2012|newspaper=Dawn|access-date=2 July 2012|location=Islamabad|archive-date=17 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117005107/http://dawn.com/2012/01/05/islamabad-saw-four-terror-attacks-last-year/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Construction of the [[Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus]], the region's first mass transit line, began in February 2014 and was completed in March 2015. The Rawalpindi Development Authority built the project at a cost of approximately Rs 24 billion, which was shared by both the Federal government and the provincial government of Punjab.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1083242/shahbaz-to-inaugurate-work-on-metro-bus-service-on-feb-28|title=Shahbaz to inaugurate work on Metro Bus Service on Feb 28|work=Dawn|access-date=14 March 2016|date=28 January 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031745/http://www.dawn.com/news/1083242/shahbaz-to-inaugurate-work-on-metro-bus-service-on-feb-28|url-status=live}}</ref>