Islamabad ‘the second most beautiful capital’, boasts CDA

Published July 6, 2015
A signboard on a greenbelt in Islamabad reads Islamabad ‘Islamabad second  most beautiful capital of the world’. — Photo by Khurram Amin
A signboard on a greenbelt in Islamabad reads Islamabad ‘Islamabad second most beautiful capital of the world’. — Photo by Khurram Amin

ISLAMABAD: For the last a few days, the citizens have felt a pleasant surprise by looking at a billboard which declares Islamabad as the second most beautiful capital of the world.

However, the first question which they asked was about the criteria adopted to rank the cities.

Naeem Ahmed, a resident of Islamabad, said he was driving on the Islamabad Highway along with his family when he saw the board at I-8 Chowk.

A picture of the Zero Point Interchange is printed on the billboard along with the portrait of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“My wife said if Islamabad is really the second most beautiful city of the world, we should feel proud of it,” Mr Naeem said.

“Once I used to hear ‘Islamabad the beautiful’ but I did not know our city is so beautiful that it can be ranked second in the world,” he said.

Mohammad Ali, a representative of the company which owned the board, said they often get advertisements to display on the board but under the agreement with the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the civic agency can also use it.

“The CDA placed the current advertisement on the board on the occasion of initiating work on the widening of Islamabad Highway. We have nothing to do with the advertisement,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of websites have carried the news about the top 10 most beautiful capitals of the world.

According to one of the websites, London is the most beautiful capital of the world while Islamabad is the second. Berlin is on the third number followed by Washington, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, Budapest, Ottawa and Moscow.

An official of the directorate of municipal administration in the CDA, who was not authorised to speak on record, said when the advertisement was being placed, he also thought about the criteria for the ranking of the beautiful capitals.

“I asked about it and then came to know that things which were kept in mind while ranking the cities included green areas, population density, planning, infrastructure and mountain views,” he said.

“Islamabad is no doubt one of the most beautiful and planned cities and that is why it has been ranked as the second most beautiful capital,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play

Opinion

Editorial

Accruing more debt
Updated 28 Sep, 2023

Accruing more debt

We are in midst of the worst, longest economic crisis because of lavish lifestyles of powerful interests.
Israeli normalisation
28 Sep, 2023

Israeli normalisation

OVER the past few weeks, there have been many reports prophesising the impending normalisation of ties between Saudi...
Kandhkot tragedy
28 Sep, 2023

Kandhkot tragedy

THE tragic incident that unfolded yesterday in Sindh’s Kandhkot tehsil, leading to the deaths of at least nine...
More desecration
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

More desecration

Attacks on the Islamic faith are not motivated by an attachment to free speech but by raw hatred.
Worrying remarks
27 Sep, 2023

Worrying remarks

THESE are ominous words from Gwadar. Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, chairman of the Gwadar Haq Do Tehreek, has warned ...
Justice or vendetta?
Updated 27 Sep, 2023

Justice or vendetta?

ONE wonders whether all pretence of the state as a democracy has been whittled down to a point where it has simply...