Conventional morality?: ‘Clear city of brothels, massage centres’

[LRE]

Conventional morality?: ‘Clear city of brothels, massage centres’

* Senate committee gives 5-week deadline to ICT admin
* Voices concern over delay in foreign missions’ relocation

By Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: A sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Wednesday set a five-week deadline for the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to close down all massage centres, brothels and bars operating in the capital city.

It also directed the ICT administration to submit compliance report in this respect during the next meeting.

The directions were issued by the sub-committee during a meeting at parliament house. Senator Talha Mehmood, who is the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and convener of the sub-committee, chaired the meeting.

Senators Tariq Azeem, Saadia Abbasi, Tahir Hussain Mashhadi and Abdul Khaliq Pirzada, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman Tariq Mehmood Khan and representatives of the ICT administration, the CDA, Foreign Office and Interior Ministry also attended the meeting.

The meeting also expressed concern over the delay in shifting foreign diplomatic missions from the capital’s residential areas to the Diplomatic Enclave.

Problems: The committee members expressed regret over the inconvenience faced by residents of the localities where foreign missions were situated.

They said that the presence of foreign missions in residential areas was posing serious security threats both for the foreign missions and the residents of the capital.

The committee chairman asked Foreign Office representatives to request foreign missions to shift their offices to the Diplomatic Enclave after constructing their buildings in the enclave. He also directed the representatives of the Foreign Office to come up with a comprehensive plan in the next meeting of the committee for shifting foreign missions from residential areas. Mehmood directed the ICT administration to inform the committee as to how much money was being spent on providing security to foreign missions.

He also proposed to the CDA to construct a multi story building in the Diplomatic Enclave and give it on rent to foreign missions so that they could shift their offices from residential areas.

Estate member: CDA Estate Member Brigadier ® Asad Munir told the committee that 54 foreign missions were operating in the residential areas of the capital and that the authority had allotted plots to 31 embassies in the Diplomatic Enclave. He added that only seven foreign missions were constructing their buildings and that 21 had not yet started construction work.

He also expressed concern over the commercial use of residential buildings, saying that it violated CDA laws and created burden over civic amenities.

The CDA Estate member also gave a presentation to the committee regarding the commercial use of residential buildings. He told the committee that according to a survey conducted by the CDA in 2007, around 843 houses were being used for commercial purposes in the residential areas of the capital.

He said that the CDA removed 82 cases of non-confirming use of houses and imposed fine on 70 owners. The authority cancelled plots of seven people, while 364 cases were under trial and 18 cases were in court, he said.

Senator Mehmood directed the CDA to make immediate arrangements for the relocation of schools and guesthouses in the commercial areas.

He said he would ask the CDA to explain its investment in Stock Exchange and would direct the FIA director general to probe into the matter.


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