Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, and home to approximately 2 million people.
The original capital of Pakistan, following its independence in 1947, was the port city of Karachi in the far southeast. Islamabad, in the far north near the disputed border with Kashmir, was built in 1960 to be the new capital so that the capital would be less open to attack from India via sea.
The name Islamabad ("home of Islam") was chosen for nationalistic purposes to emphasize Pakistan's identity as an Islamic nation vis-a-vis predominantly Hindu India.