Capital (pop., 1998: 524,500) of Pakistan, located northeast of Rawalpindi .
Established in 1959 to replace Karachi as the capital, it was designed to blend modern and traditional Islamic architecture. The city itself is small, with an area of 25 sq mi (65 sq km), but the planned capital area is a 350-sq-mi (910-sq-km) expanse of natural terraces and meadows surrounding the city. It is the seat of the University of Islamabad (founded 1965).