Ministry of Defence (Pakistan) of the army, navy and air force in Pakistan until 1956. In December 1959, the federal capital shifted temporarily to Rawalpindi, while plans for Islamabad were drawn up by then-General Ayub Khan's military government. The proximity of the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi played a major role in the decision to relocate the capital. In March 1972, President Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in response to criticism over the difficulties in inter-service coordination in previous wars decreed that all service HQs were to move to Islamabad. The Navy was the first to comply, with Naval Headquarters moving from Karachi to Sector E9 Islamabad
Islamabad which unearthed the remains of a Buddhist stupa at Ban Faqiran, near the Shah Allah Ditta caves, which was dated to the 2nd to the 5th century CE. When Pakistan gained independence in 1947, the southern port city of Karachi was its first national capital. In the 1960s, Islamabad was constructed as a forward capital for several reasons. Traditionally, development in Pakistan was focused on the colonial centre of Karachi - a tradition which President Ayub Khan wished to abolish. Karachi was also located at the southern end of the country, and exposed to attacks from the Arabian Sea. Pakistan