Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area

Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area
Cities and Town's  Pakistan
Principal cities Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Murree, Attock, Wah Cantt
Population (2015)
 • Total 4,700,000
Time zone Pakistan Standard Time

The Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area is Pakistan's third most populous metropolitan area. It consists principally of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, along with smaller towns such as Murree, Wah Cantonment, Taxila, and several gated suburbs including Bahria Town and DHA Islamabad.[1][2][3]

Covering the Pothohar Plateau, the area consists of the ancient town of Taxila, which is a World Heritage Site; the colonial cities of Rawalpindi and Murree, and the modern planned city of Islamabad.[4] The area received a major boom with the construction of Islamabad as the capital city of Pakistan in the 1960s.[5]

Geography

Islamabad and Rawalpindi are located in the Potohar region of northern Punjab, against the backdrop of the Margalla Hills.[6]

Economy

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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] Islamabad has seen an expansion in information and communications technology with the addition two Software Technology Parks, which house numerous national and foreign technological and information technology companies. The tech parks are located in Evacuee Trust Complex and Awami Markaz. Awami Markaz houses 36 IT companies while Evacuee Trust house 29 companies.[11]

The economy of Rawalpindi and the surrounding district has a diverse industrial base, but remains mainly service based. According to the general survey of industry conducted by Directorate of Industries and Mineral Development Punjab, there are 939 industrial units operating in the district. This district is not famous for industrial goods like other districts. The progress has been mostly in the private sector. The existing industrial units provide employment to about 35,000 people, i.e., about 1.6% of district population is directly employed in large, medium and small industrial units. The Technical/Vocational Training Institute operating in the district turns out about 1,974 technicians/artisans annually. They are trained in engineering, air conditioning, drafting, metallurgy, welding, auto knitting, telecom and commerce, etc. Jinnah Road, formerly known as City Saddar Road, is one of the busiest business markets. It could be considered as business headquarters northern Pakistan including retailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers having an approximately cash flow of more than 1 billion rupees per day. The importance of Jinnah Road can be seen by the presence of more than nine banks on the road with more opening soon.[12]

Infrastructure

The metro area is connected by a network of highway's with the rest of the country. Within the metro area the Islamabad Highway and Kashmir Highway provide the primary link between Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The area is divided by the Grand Trunk Road which connect's the region with Lahore and Peshawar. The newer, M2 Motorway contact's the area with Lahore, and through Lahore with the port city of Karachi.[13]

The area is also connected to the Pakistan Railway's national railway network. The area is served with the Benazir Bhutto International Airport (BBIA) which is the third-busiest airport in Pakistan, the under construction New Islamabad International Airport will replace the BBIA in 2017.[14] The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a 24 km (14.9 mi) bus rapid transit system that serves the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad with the larger metropolitan area. It uses dedicated bus lanes for all of its route covering 24 bus stations.

Politics

As Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad serves as the seat of the federal government and is the country's political center. Rawalpindi has remained important historically, as it hosts the headquarters of Pakistan's powerful army.[15] Rawalpindi also temporarily served as the federal capital when Islamabad was being built in the 1960s, to replace Karachi as the capital.[16]

Urban areas

Urban Area Population Type
Islamabad 2 million Capital city
Rawalpindi 3.1 million Major city
Murree 0.5 million[17] Hill station
Taxila 0.15 million[18] Town
Wah Cantonment 0.35 million[19] Garrison town
Gujar Khan 0.493 million[20] Town
Bahria Town Rawalpindi 0.12 million[21] Gated community
Golra Sharif - Town
DHA Islamabad - Gated community

References

  1. ↑ Raza, Syed Irfan (2012-08-07). "Islamabad's population touches two-million mark". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  2. ↑ "Rawalpindi | Pakistan GIS". Pakistan GIS. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  3. ↑ "A new era of modern transport begins". www.pid.gov.pk. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  4. ↑ "Rawalpindi: History behind a bustling city". Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  5. ↑ Mass, Leslie Noyes (2011-10-15). Back to Pakistan: A Fifty-Year Journey. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781442213197.
  6. ↑ Hull, Matthew S. Government of Paper: The Materiality of Bureaucracy in Urban Pakistan. University of California Press. p. 34. ISBN 9780520951884.
  7. ↑ "Pakistan | Economics and extremism". Dawn. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Pakistan Stock Exchanges".
  9. ↑ ISE-Official website. "About ISE".
  10. ↑ "Rs 371bn revenue target: FBR hails LTU Islamabad's performance". Business Recorder. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Pakistan Software Export Board. "Islamabad".
  12. ↑ "Furniture". Scribd. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  13. ↑ "Pakistan Motorway Project". www.pakpost.gov.pk. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  14. ↑ "Business Recorder". www.brecorder.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  15. ↑ King, John S.; Mayhew, Bradley (1998). Karakoram Highway. Lonely Planet. p. 233. ISBN 9780864425317.
  16. ↑ Camerapix (1989). Spectrum Guide to Pakistan. Facts on File. p. 229. ISBN 9780816021260.
  17. ↑ "Development in Murree - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2014-07-12. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  18. ↑ Correspondent, The Newspaper's (2015-06-28). "Taxila THQ hospital — a picture of neglect". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  19. ↑ Iqbal, Amjad (2015-04-29). "Wah Cantt election statistics reveal interesting trends". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  20. ↑ "District Overview | CPO Rawalpindi". cporwp.punjabpolice.gov.pk. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  21. ↑ Ali, Fahim Zaman | Naziha Syed (2016-04-18). "Bahria Town Karachi: Greed unlimited". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2016-10-29.

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