Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area the larger metropolitan area. It uses dedicated bus lanes for all of its route covering 24 bus stations. As Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad serves as the seat of the federal government and is the country's political center. Rawalpindi has remained important historically, as it hosts the headquarters of Pakistan's army. Rawalpindi also temporarily served as the federal capital when Islamabad was being built in the 1960s, to replace Karachi as the capital. Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area The Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area is Pakistan's third most populous metropolitan area. It consists principally of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, along with smaller
Federal Capital Territory (Pakistan) flights and cargo facilities. In addition there was an airport at Mauripur which is now the Masroor Pakistan Air Force base. In 1947, Karachi had the only major port in western Pakistan while Chittagong was the main port for eastern Pakistan. The city was linked to the rest of West Pakistan by railway with the main stations at Karachi City Station and Karachi Cantonment Station. Federal Capital Territory (Pakistan) The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) around Karachi was the original capital territory of Pakistan. The FCT was created in 1948 from the city of Karachi and surrounding areas as the location