Rawalpindi (
Punjabi, ,
Rāwalpiṅḋī), commonly known as
Pindi , is a city in the
Punjab,
Pakistan. It is the 4th most populous metropolitan area of Pakistan. The center of the Rawalpindi is only from the center of
Islamabad. Due to the high interdependence and intertwined areas of the two cities, they are known as the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. In the 1950s, Rawalpindi's population was smaller than
Hyderabad and
Multan, but the city's economy received a boost during the building of Islamabad (1959–1969), during which Rawalpindi served as the national capital. Rawalpindi is in the northernmost part of the
Punjab province, located to the north-west of
Lahore. It is the administrative seat of the
Rawalpindi District. Also, Rawalpindi is the military headquarters, also referred to as GHQ (General Headquarters) of the
Pakistani Armed Forces.