Re: englishmen in islamabad
FT, it is difficult to understand the culture of Pakistan by traveling to Islamabad. It is more of a culture-less city.
I don’t think there is any area in Islamabad which is unsafe and that you need to avoid. Even at night it is pretty safe, apart from the wild boar families appearing in front of your car out of nowhere.
The best place to visit in Islamabad will be Lok Virsa (Folklore) village. It has a decent-sized museum depicting various cultures of the country. You need a good few hours to complete the tour and you will definitely not get bored. You might get lucky and find some festival going on around there.
If you are interested in arts, pick up newspaper “The NEWS” - Islamabad edition. On page 2, columns on the left side will tell you what exhibitions and activities are taking place in the city that day.
You can have a good overview of the city by either going to Shakar Parian or Pir Suhawa in the Margalla mountain ranges. You can have delicious BBQ on these hilltops. From Islamabad F6 area, you can take the beautiful trekking route to climb up to Pir Suhawa. However, these hills are habitat of some big cats (I don’t remember anyone being attacked by these though).
There are plenty of places to eat out in Islamabad. Try Abpara Food Park.
There are a bunch of other places to close to Islamabad.
Here is a link to the city website.