Nilore () is a

townsite A townsite is a legal subdivision of land for the development of a town or community. In the historical development of the United States, Canada, and other former British colonial nations, the filing of a townsite plat (United States) or plan ( ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in the

Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is a federal territory of Pakistan, centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau, at the foot of the Margalla Hills, in the northwest of the ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, located and established in the district limit of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

. The city is located around 25 kilometers south-east of Islamabad, and controlled under the

Islamabad Police Islamabad Capital Territory Police (), also known as Islamabad Police, is a police force formed in 1981 to police Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan under administrative control of the Chief Commissioner, ICT Administration, Islamabad Capital ...

to ensure the law and justice in the city. The Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science & Technology (PINSTECH), covering around 400 acres, and the Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences (PIEAS) are located in Nilore, where key nuclear research takes place.

History

Nilore was established in 1967 as a research site for nuclear technology. It became a secret city and became one of the major research site for the integrated nuclear development to develop the atom bomb in the 1970s. It was closed to the public in the 1970s by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, and starting in 1972, the

Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers The Pakistan Army Corps of Engineers is a military administrative and the engineering staff branch of the Pakistan Army. The Corps of Engineers is generally associated with the civil engineering works, dams, canals, and flood protection, ...

acquired the entire city and immediately removed the local residents as they were paid heavy compensation. By 1973, the city communities had been removed, and fences and checkpoints had been established. Its relatively low population made acquisition affordable for the Ministry of Defence and the city was re-constructed by the Corps of Engineers. Facilities and institutes were expanded and new houses, homes, and facilities were built for the scientists and engineers who began their government research under extreme secrecy. Since then, Nilore's given nicknames include "Northern atomic city", "secret valley" and the "city behind the fence". Nilore hosted an apex scientific research in the 1960s led under

Abdus Salam Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Pakistani theoretical physicist. He shared the 1 ...

, and the scientific research and development still plays a crucial role in the city's economy and culture in general. Since the 1990s, the city has been opened for the public and classified facilities were immediately closed by the government and re-located at unknown locations.

Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Sciences

PIEAS is one of the finest institution in Pakistan. It was ranked amongst the Top 400 in the

QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...

2023. It has been producing engineers for Pakistan for many decades. Students who are interested in studying in a beautiful and lovely location than PIEAS is amongst the best option. PIEAS is a better and an affordable option. It also provides various scholarship programs.

References

Hill stations in Pakistan Geography of Islamabad Nuclear weapons programme of Pakistan Former closed cities {{Pakistan-geo-stub