Over the years, Islamabad is gradually turning into a city.
Depends on what your definition of a city is really. We we would to keep it free of slums, tooti roads, congestion, pollution. For all that halla-gulla, pindi is next doors (less than 15 mins away). I just wish it stayed like that, because the Islamabad of the 80s was much better than what it is now.
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Back in the 90's, once Japanese ambassador termed Islamabad as a camp on Eid eve - by noting that If your car's tyre bursted on Eid, you would have to drag it to Rawalpindi to get it repaired!
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Not true really, Islamabad was just 'expensive' in the 90s, everything was there. The cheaper 2 rupiyya tire shops weren't found in Islamabad back then as illegal encroachment wasn't allowed in Islamabad, and the property was beyond the reach of someone who would normally open up a small lube shop, only proper dealerships and repair shops could be found back then.
Btw, the camp thing on Eid was because back in the 80s and early 90s was true, most of the people used to leave Islamabad and visit their native home towns and cities because they weren't really from Islamabad. Now its a totally diff situation, its hard to get into the city with all that traffic during such times.
Another cool fact, Islamabad was always exempted from load shedding, and most of the interior sectors still are! :)