They will tell you, if you ever visit the place, that Islamabad is 11 miles from Pakistan and at first you don't understand what they mean.
Then your eyes open as your host's car speeds you along the superb expressway from the airport to this capital city.
You come to broad avenues entirely overhung by the leafy branches of big trees planted everywhere along the roadways in this near desert and marvel at the unending mansions - no breeze block or tent huts here.
When you get to the centre of the city you wonder why Islamabad is not featured more often in the design awards of architectural magazines.
The major government buildings are stunning and there are always more going up: here a moghul palace, there a long low line of ministerial offices set in a glorious parkland, somewhere else the latest achievement of Islamic tracery in a facade.
Ah yes, you say to yourself, when public servants here set out to do good, they do very well indeed.