List of capitals in Pakistan
This is a list of capital cities, including the legislature or seat of government, of Pakistan and its current and former provinces, territories, and states.
National capital
Islamabad has been the capital of Pakistan since the 1960s, succeeding the coastal city of Karachi, which had been selected as the capital in 1947 by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan. The legislature was based in Dacca in the province of East Bengal (later renamed East Pakistan). Karachi was and still is the largest city and economic capital of Pakistan. It remained the seat of government until 1959, when the military president, Ayub Khan, decided to build a new capital in the north of Pakistan, near the general headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces at Rawalpindi. The main reasons for the new location were that the new capital city would reflect the diversity of the Pakistani people, it would be separated from the business and commercial activity of Karachi, and also it would be easily accessible from all parts of the country.[1] The move to Islamabad was not completed until the late 1960s and for some years several government ministries were based in nearby Rawalpindi.
Regional capitals
The capitals of the provinces and territories of Pakistan have remained the same since the 1970s when the current administrative structure was established. All four provincial capitals are the largest cities of their respective provinces.Pakistan has a total population of 197,361,691 according to 2011 census estimate.[2]
| Subdivision[3] | Status | Capital[4] | Population (1998 census)[5] | Population (2011 estimate)[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balochistan | Province | Quetta | 565,137 | 13,162,222 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | Province | Peshawar | 17,743,645 | 26,896,829 |
| Punjab | Province | Lahore | 5,143,495 | 91,379,615 |
| Sindh | Province | Karachi | 9,339,023 | 55,245,497 |
| Federally Administered Tribal Areas[7] | Federal territory | 2,746,490 | 4,452,913 | |
| Islamabad Capital Territory | Federal territory | Islamabad | 529,180 | 1,151,868 |
| Gilgit–Baltistan[8] | Province | Gilgit | 548,588 | 1,441,523 |
Former provincial capitals
- East Pakistan : Dhaka
- West Pakistan : Lahore
See also
- List of historical national capitals
- List of countries with multiple capitals
- Administrative units of Pakistan
- Former administrative units of Pakistan
References
- ↑ "History of Islamabad". Capital Development Authority. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
linked from "Visit Islamabad: Islamabad the beautiful". Capital Development Authority. - ↑ Population shoots up by 47 percent since 1998
- ↑ "The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan". National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ↑ Gwillim Law. "Pakistan Provinces". Statoids.com. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ↑ "Population size and growth of major cities". Population Census Organization, Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ↑ Stefan Helders. "Pakistan - largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ↑ "Administrative system". Government of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Retrieved 2008-01-03.
- ↑ "Kashmir and Northern Areas Division". Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 2006-12-10. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
External links
| ||||||||||||||||||||
