violence led to an exodus of a vast majority of thecity's Hindu and Sikh populations, who fled to India's EastPunjab. In the succeeding years, Rawalpindi saw an influx of  Muhajir ,  Pashtun  and  Kashmiri  settlers. In 1959, the city became the interimcapital of the country after President Ayub Khan sought the creationof a new planned capital of Islamabad in