Islamabad is connected to major destinations around the world through Benazir Bhutto International Airport, previously known as Islamabad International Airport. The airport is the third largest in Pakistan and is located outside Islamabad, in Chaklala, Rawalpindi.In fiscal year 2004–2005, over 2.88 million passengers used Benazir Bhutto International Airport and 23,436 aircraft movements were registered. Islamabad Gandhara International Airport is under construction at Fateh Jang to cope with the increasing number of passengers. When completed in June 2013, the airport will be the largest in Pakistan. The airport will be built at a cost of $400 million and will be completed by mid 2013. This will be the first green field airport in Pakistan with an area of 3,600-acre (15 km2).All major cities and towns are accessible through regular trains and bus services running mostly from the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. Lahore and Peshawar are linked to Islamabad through a network of motorways which has resulted in a significant reduction in travelling times between these cities. M-2 Motorway is 367 km long and connect Islamabad and Lahore. M-1 Motorway connects Islamabad with Peshawar and is 155 km long. Islamabad is linked to its 'Father' city Rawalpindi through the Faizabad Interchange, the cloverleaf interchange has a daily traffic volume of about 48,000 vehicles.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Health care in Islambad
Islamabad has the lowest rate of infant mortality in the country at 38 deaths per thousand compared to the national average of 78 deaths per thousand.Islamabad has both public and private medical centres. The largest hospital in Islamabad is Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital. It was established in 1985 as a teaching and doctor training institute. PIMS functions as a National Reference Center and provides specialised diagnostic and curative services.The hospital has 30 major medical departments. PIMS is divided into five administrative branches. Islamabad Hospital is the major component with a 592 bed facility and 22 medical and surgical specialities. Children's Hospital is a 230 bed hospital completed in 1985. It contains six major facilities: Surgical and Allied Specialities, Medical and Allied Specialties, Diagnostic Facilities, Operation Theatre, Critical Care (NICU, PICU, Isolation & Accident Emergency), and a Blood Bank.The Maternal and Child Health Care Center is a training institute with an attached hospital of 125 beds offering different clinical and operational services. PIMS consists of five academic institutes: Quaid-e-Azam Postgraduate Medical College, College of Nursing, College of Medical Technology, School of Nursing, and Mother and Child Health Center.
PAEC General Hospital and teaching institute, established in 2006, is affiliated with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission. The hospital consists of a 100 bed facility and 10 major departments: Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatric, General Medicine, General Surgery, Intensive Care Unit/Coronary Care Unit, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, Pathology, Radiology, and Dental Department.
Shifa International Hospital is a teaching hospital in Islamabad that was founded in 1987 and became a public company in 1989. The hospital has 70 qualified consultants in almost all specialities, 150 IPD beds and OPD facilities in 35 different specialisations.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics of the Government of Pakistan, in 2008 there were 12 hospitals, 76 dispensaries, and 5 Maternity and Child Welfare Centers in the city with a total of 5,158 beds.
Educational institutions in Islamabad
Islamabad boasts the highest literacy rate in Pakistan at 87%.A large number of public and private sector educational institutes are present here. The higher education institutes in the capital are either federally chartered or administered by private organisations and almost all of them are recognised by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. High schools and colleges are either affiliated with the Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education or with the UK universities education boards, O/A Levels, or IGCSE. According to Academy of Educational Planning And Management's report, in 2006 there were a total of 904 recognised institutions in Islamabad (30 pre-primary, 2 religious, 384 primary, 157 middle, 291 high, 15 intermediate, and 25 degree colleges).There are seven teacher training institutes in Islamabad with a total enrolment of 581,068 students and 491 faculty.
The Gender Parity Index in Islamabad is 0.93 compared to 0.95 for Pakistan. There are 178 boys only institutes, 175 girls, and 551 mixed institutes in the capital territory.Total enrolment of students in all categories is 273,583; 139,961 for boys and 133,622 for girls.
There are 17 recognised universities in Islamabad with a total enrolment of 279,820 students and 25,653 teachers.The world's second largest university by enrolment, Allama Iqbal Open University, is located in Islamabad. The two top engineering universities in Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences and National University of Sciences and Technology also have their headquarters in the capital. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad is the top ranked university in Pakistan in the general category. Other universities include Riphah International University, Air University, Bahria University, COMSATS, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Hamdard University, Iqra University Islamabad, National Defence University, Shifa College of Medicine, National University of Modern Languages, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, International Islamic University, Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah University.
In 2006–2007, the Federal Government spent a total of 54,523.637 million Rs. on the education sector out of which 25,830.670 million was the developmental fund.This amount is 25.18% of the total educational budget spend in that year, which was 216,518.059 million Rs. The public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government spending that year was 14.09%.
The Gender Parity Index in Islamabad is 0.93 compared to 0.95 for Pakistan. There are 178 boys only institutes, 175 girls, and 551 mixed institutes in the capital territory.Total enrolment of students in all categories is 273,583; 139,961 for boys and 133,622 for girls.
There are 17 recognised universities in Islamabad with a total enrolment of 279,820 students and 25,653 teachers.The world's second largest university by enrolment, Allama Iqbal Open University, is located in Islamabad. The two top engineering universities in Pakistan, Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences and National University of Sciences and Technology also have their headquarters in the capital. Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad is the top ranked university in Pakistan in the general category. Other universities include Riphah International University, Air University, Bahria University, COMSATS, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, Hamdard University, Iqra University Islamabad, National Defence University, Shifa College of Medicine, National University of Modern Languages, National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, International Islamic University, Center for Advanced Studies in Engineering, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah University.
In 2006–2007, the Federal Government spent a total of 54,523.637 million Rs. on the education sector out of which 25,830.670 million was the developmental fund.This amount is 25.18% of the total educational budget spend in that year, which was 216,518.059 million Rs. The public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government spending that year was 14.09%.
Culture of Islamabad
Rahat Multani singing at the National Art Gallery, Islamabad
Saidpur village in Islamabad is named after Said Khan, the son of Sultan Sarang Khan. The 500 year old village was converted into the 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. The region is home to many Hindu temples that are preserved, showing the history of Hindu civilisation and architecture in the region.
The shrine of Sufi mystic Pir Meher Ali Shah is located at Golra Sharif, which has a rich cultural heritage of the pre-Islamic period. Archaeological remains of the Buddhist era can still be found in the region.The shrine of Bari Imam was built by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Thousands of devotees from across Pakistan attend the annual Urs of Bari Imam. The event is one of the largest religious gatherings in Islamabad. In 2004, the Urs was attended by more than 1.2 million people.
The Lok Virsa in Islamabad preserves the living folk and traditional culture of Pakistan. The Folk Heritage Museum, located near Shakarparian hills, has a large display of embroidered costumes, jewellery, woodwork, black printing, ivory, and bone work from the region and other parts of Pakistan
Economy of Islamabad
Jinnah Avenue is located in Blue Area, the main business district of Islamabad
Islamabad Stock Exchange Building
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 IT 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. Call centres for foreign companies have been targeted as another significant area of growth, with the government making efforts to reduce taxes by as much as 10% in order to encourage foreign investments in the IT sector.
Most of Pakistan's state-owned companies like PIA, PTV, PTCL, OGDCL, and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd. are based in Islamabad. The city is home to many branches of Karachi-based companies, banks, and TV channels. Headquarters of all major telecommunication operators such as PTCL, Mobilink, Telenor, Ufone, China Mobile and are located in Islamabad.
Demographics of Islamabad
| Population through decades | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Population | Urban |
| | ||
| 1951 | 95,940 | 70% |
| 1961 | 117,669 | 80% |
| 1972 | 237,549 | 85% |
| 1981 | 340,286 | 90% |
| 1998 | 805,235 | 95% |
| 2011 | 1,151,868 | 100% |
| | ||
| Sources: | 1998 Census of Pakistan | |
Urdu, the national and first official language of the country, is predominantly spoken within the city due to the ethnic mix of populations. English, is widely used & is also commonly understood. Other languages include Punjabi, Pashto and Pothohari. The mother tongue of the majority of the population is Punjabi, at 72%. 10% of the population are native Urdu speakers, 10% are native Pushto speakers, and 8% other languages. The total migrant population of the city is 397,731, with the majority from Punjab (241,977). Around 76,614 of the migrated population came from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 75,143 from Sindh, 24,438 from Azad Kashmir, and 21,372 from other countries. Smaller populations emigrated from Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Islam is the largest religion in the city, with 95.53% of the population Muslim. In rural areas this percentage is 98.80%, while in urban areas the percentage of Muslims is 93.83%. The second largest religion is Christianity, with 4.07% of the population, 0.94% in rural areas and 5.70% in the city. Hinduism accounts for 0.02% of the population, and other minorities 0.03%.
The majority of the population lies in the age group of 15–64 years, around 59.38%. Only 2.73% of the population is above 65 years of age; 37.90% is below the age of 15. Islamabad has the highest literacy rate in Pakistan, at 87%.9.8% of the population has done intermediate education (equivalent to grades 11 and 12). 10.26% have a bachelor or equivalent degree while 5.2% have a master or equivalent degree.The labour force of Islamabad is 185,213 and the unemployment rate is 15.70%.
Architecture
Islamabad's architecture is a combination of modernity and old Islamic and regional traditions. The Saudi-Pak Tower is an example of the integration of modern architecture with traditional styles. The beige-coloured edifice is trimmed with blue tile works in Islamic tradition, and is one of Islamabad's tallest buildings. Other examples of intertwined Islamic and modern architecture include Pakistan Monument and Faisal Mosque.
The murals on the inside of the large petals of Pakistan Monument are based on Islamic architecture. The design of Shah Faisal Mosque is a fusion of contemporary architecture with a more traditional large triangular prayer hall and four minarets. The architecture of Faisal Mosque is unusual as it lacks a dome structure. It is a combination of Arabic, Turkish, and Mughal architectural traditions.
The Centaurus is an example of modern architecture under construction in Islamabad. The seven star hotel was designed by WS Atkins PLC.The newly built Islamabad Stock Exchange Towers is another example of modern architecture in the city.
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