List of capitals in Pakistan
Islamabad officially became the capital of Pakistan on 14 August 1967, exactly 20 years after the country's independence. Previously, Rawalpindi was the capital, designated in 1958. The first capital of Pakistan was the coastal city of Karachi, which was selected by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Karachi was and still is the largest city and economic capital of Pakistan. It remained the seat of government until 1959, when the military president, Ayub Khan, decided to build a new capital in the north of Pakistan, near the general headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces at Rawalpindi.
Rawalpindi
Construction of Pakistan's new capital city of Islamabad in 1961 led to greater investment in Rawalpindi. Rawalpindi remained the headquarters of the Pakistani Army after the capital shifted to Islamabad in 1969, while the Pakistan Air Force continues to maintain an airbase in the Chaklala district of Rawalpindi. The military dictatorship of General Zia ul Haq hanged Pakistan's deposed Prime Minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, in Rawalpindi in 1979.