The Capital Development Authority (CDA) took an incredible 63 years to fulfill its commitment to the family of Qazi Abdur Rehman Amritsari, the man who offered the name “Islamabad” for Pakistan’s eventual capital city.
Qazi was born in Amritsar in 1908 and moved to Pakistan with his family, settling at Arifwalla. When President Ayub Khan planned to replace Karachi with a new federal capital, a panel was constituted, and the selected location near Rawalpindi was accepted.
The monthly Qandeel Lahore, edited by the late Majid Nizami, invited public proposals for naming the future capital. While numerous names were proposed, Qazi Abdur Rehman’s name was finally picked by the federal government led by President Ayub in February 1960.
Despite Nizami’s efforts to schedule a meeting with President Ayub to pay the promised cash prize to Qazi Abdur Rehman, no meeting took place. As a consequence, Nizami personally paid Qazi the money.
Subsequently, in response to Qazi’s letter, the federal capital commission stated that his name was already registered for a plot in the new capital. Qazi, on the other hand, had to wait 30 years until President Ayub’s promise was fulfilled, and he died in 1990. Despite many media sources raising the subject, nothing was done.
Now, after 63 years, CDA has chosen to keep its commitment to Qazi’s family and assign them a plot of land in the capital city.
The CDA chairman expressed displeasure that the land was not delivered to Qazi in his lifetime, and he asked the relevant wing to track down his relatives. The CDA will shortly contact Qazi’s family, who now live in Arif Walla, and offer them a constructed and unobstructed site. In addition, the CDA will honor the family by inviting them to the next Islamabad Literary Festival.
whats so special in naming Islamabad? abad waise he har jga k sath lgana hta h hm ne aur islam bhe naam ki had tak hmri zindagion me aam h. islampura se islamabad ki variation? whats the big deal?