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.
West Pakistan
Under the One Unit policy announced by Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali on 22 November 1954, the four provinces and territories of western Pakistan were integrated into one unit to mirror the single province in the east. The state of West Pakistan was established by the merger of the provinces, states, and tribal areas of West Pakistan. The province was composed of twelve divisions and the provincial capital was established at Karachi. Later the state capital moved to Lahore, and it was finally established in Islamabad in 1965. The province of East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan with the provincial state capital at Dhaka (Dacca).