Islamabad, the best city I've seen in South Asia-Yoginder Sikand(an Indian)

[DESERT FIGHTER]

It's relatively less populated, but it still has 1.1 million people living in it.

The population is more thn 3 million.

 

[StingRoy]

Lets not compare and make it like another thread running on this forum "Best capital city in South Asia". I give Islamabad its due credits, especially in terms of the amount of urban planning that has gone into the city. It is a post independence city as well as the capital and given the surroundings and latitude it is located, it also provides a good climate.

Nice article from the writer

 

[Varad]

Someone please give me the cell # of this Yoginder Sikand guy! I want to call him and request him to refrain writing such articles as these articles haunt my indian friends on this forum and may be on other forums too......! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee.........!

HAHAHAHA but most of us after such an incident has happened go and watch the videos of Najam Sethi or Dr. Fraukhh Saleem about India. Only then we get peace.

 

[SpArK]

Yaar i accept they are better. But point i am making is we have better infrastructure.heck after such economic growth we dont have good infrastructure than whats the point.Our over population is the key irritant.

Islamabad's infrastructure need is less compared to Delhi's due to lower population. Its common sense.

Just go through the pictures. the streets are so well planned like the Gurgaon and Chandigarh which are relatively new.

I have voted Islamabad as the best capital city in a very volatile thread. I liked the climate factor, infrastructural perfection factor, the gardens, less pollution factor and all. Thats an advantage you get in newer planned cities.

 

[BATMAN]

Islamabad looks nice and clean. But I think Yogender did not visit the French quarters.

Before it was less population and than it was low on infrastructure and now French quarters were not visited!

Go back to your bombay... and stop educating your self on Pakistani forums.

 

[AvidSpice]

Someone please give me the cell # of this Yoginder Sikand guy! I want to call him and request him to refrain writing such articles as these articles haunt my indian friends on this forum and may be on other forums too......! Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee.........!

Shhhh..Don't call, RAW might frame you!

Islamabad no doubt is a beautiful city. Every city has its own charm. So does Islamabad.

 

[53fd]

Two Indians in Islamabad:

Isloo the beautiful:

At a recent dinner, my wife asked an inscrutable Pakistani diplomat who had done two stints in the Indian capital if he ever missed Delhi. He took a bite of pulao, thought for a long while and said something to the effect that he liked Delhi but did not miss it.

When I leave Islamabad, if anyone were to ask me a similar question, I will have no qualms in saying that I will miss the city. Immensely.

Islamabad has been described as a purpose built capital, a city that has nothing to offer on the same scale as Lahore or Karachi – bustling, colourful metropolises that are closer to their cousins on the other side of the Wagah.

But even before you realise it, Islamabad grows on you. The calm atmosphere, the unhurried pace of life that often reminds me how my hometown of Shillong in northeast India used to be in the good old days, the well laid-out roads and avenues, orderly residential sectors and public utilities that actually deliver.

When an employee of the Capital Development Authority refused to collect my garbage while performing the same duties for my British neighbours, a message left on the CDA’s website sorted out things within two days – just an email message, no phone calls, no sifarish (try doing that in Delhi).

The taxi drivers are unfailingly courteous and helpful, and I have had my misplaced phone returned by cabbies on three occasions (only once did I have to hint that I knew the cabbie’s number and could take up the matter with authorities). What are the odds of that happening in any Indian city?

And I only have to tune into one of Islamabad’s many FM channels to get my daily fix of the great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, one of my favourite voices of all time. (In fact, I am listening to him on the radio as I write this).

A trek along the many trails in the Margalla Hills is great for rejuvenating the spirit and communing with nature. The vistas from the hill-tops are picture-perfect, and even the cheerful trekkers who greet you with a whispered “As-salam-alaikum” seem to be aware that they shouldn’t intrude too deeply into your thoughts.

Do I worry at times about security issues? I do, especially since the Talibs and their compadres moved closer to Islamabad with their attacks but not to the extent as some of our friends from other countries, who hardly ever stir out of their homes except for a night out at the staid and boring Islamabad Club or a dinner at someone’s home.

Not that everything is perfect about Islamabad. My wife began nagging me one evening to take her out “somewhere, anywhere” because she was bored out of her mind and had nothing to do. Just then a diplomat friend from the Indian mission phoned me. As we chatted, I told him about my wife’s plans.

My friend, who was known for his laconic ways, drawled: “Kahan jaoge? Super? Jinnah Super? Daman-e-Koh ya Pir Sohawa (two viewpoints overlooking Islamabad)?"

Well, my wife and I never went out that evening after my chat with my oh-so-eloquent friend. Not for nothing is there an urban legend that an American diplomat once claimed that Islamabad was half the size of Arlington cemetery (a huge military graveyard in Washington) and twice as dead.

The life and times of two Indians in Pakistan: Isloo the beautiful

 

[Desert Fox]

@ BilalHaider:

Bro, we appreciate your efforts in improving Pakistan image, but these kinds of threads are pointless. Threads like these only end up being closed due to the amount of trolling that goes on in them, and besides we already have threads about the beauty of Pakistan, its people, culture, and geography, no need to open more!

 

[DelhiDareDevil]

What are job oppurtunities in Islamabad like? Any giant IT or Finance firm there?

For that reason, its a city I wont move in, even if it was in India.

 

[Varad]

Islamabad's infrastructure need is less compared to Delhi's due to lower population. Its common sense.

Just go through the pictures. the streets are so well planned like the Gurgaon and Chandigarh which are relatively new.

I have voted Islamabad as the best capital city in a very volatile thread. I liked the climate factor, infrastructural perfection factor, the gardens, less pollution factor and all. Thats an advantage you get in newer planned cities.

But If population was criterion Japan would have been less developed than us. What matters is money.

 

[BATMAN]

What are job oppurtunities in Islamabad like? Any giant IT or Finance firm there?

For that reason, its a city I wont move in, even if it was in India.

You couldn't afford to live here even if you are CEO of any stinking firm in India.
You simply don't have any place like this in India, so have no choice.

Show me a single street in India comparable to Streets of Islamabad.

 

[TROJAN.EXE]

Of course Islamabad is the best city in South Asia. When you go to india all their cities are like this: indians openly defecating and urinating in the public. Such disgusting people.

 

[SpArK]

But If population was criterion Japan would have been less developed than us. What matters is money.

Even with bigger population Tokyo, Newyork etc are much better.

But here we are comparing cities down south based on looks, ease of living ( which includes less congestion, less pollution, 'effective' public transport, less urban slums, and various other factors) and in my opinion Islamabad has a bigger score among the cities of SAARC. I dont care if there is a big building in middle of lots of building . I dont care if there are million more autombiles or thousand more hospitals and other offices around, what i look if there are ample and adequate infrastructure to sustain my life. Maybe its just me and my opinion , and i dont like bending truth just for the sake of it.

 

[Karachiite]

There really is no place like Isloo anywhere else in South Asia. It looks something straight out of a posh area in Europe or North America.

 

[Nirvana]

Of course Islamabad is the best city in South Asia. When you go to india all their cities are like this: indians openly defecating and urinating in the public. Such disgusting people.

Tumhare yaha pe Yeh sab nahi hota kya ????