Islamabad is the capital city of Pakistan and serves as the seat of the country's federal government. It is located north of Rawalpindi, the largest city in northern Punjab, with which it forms a metropolitan area exceeding 5.7 million inhabitants.
Established in 1967 along the Margalla Hills, Islamabad was developed as a planned city during the 1960s to replace Karachi as the national capital. The city is federally administered as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory.
Islamabad ranks as the tenth-most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 1.1 million people. Its surrounding metropolitan area has a population exceeding 2.3 million.