Nato's rehab centre functioning at 5-star hotel

By: Imran Mukhtar | Published: July 07, 2010

ISLAMABAD – ISAF and NATO’s rehabilitation centre for their injured and worn-out soldiers - who are fighting war on terror in Afghanistan - is operating here at a five-star hotel.
Senator Jamal Ahmed Leghari made this disclosure during the meeting of the Subcommittee on Interior which is looking into the issue of blockades of various roads in the Federal Capital, especially in front of two five-star hotels, in the name of security.
The issue has raised many eyebrows as the military set-up is established in a civilian area and thus it is causing serious security threats to the locals.
Senator Leghari remarked this at a time when the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) seems reluctant and passes the buck onto others in implementing the Committee’s earlier directive to remove all the barricades in front of Marriott Hotel and Serena Hotel.
He remarked that no Government body would dare remove the obstructions in front of Serena Hotel as a rehabilitation centre of NATO and ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) was working there, adding that the Government was providing security to the foreign forces at the cost of the security of the poor masses of the country.
However, ICT administration as well as Capital Police would again decide parameters, besides reviewing and revisiting the SOPs (Standing Operating Procedures), regarding blocking various roads for security measures.
Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner Islamabad, Amer Ahmed Ali, in the meeting of the Subcommittee on Tuesday viewed that directives of the Parliamentary Committee could only be implemented after the approval from Interior Ministry and ICTA would forward the recommendations to the Ministry very soon. However, both the high-ups from the ICTA as well CDA conceded to the Subcommittee that both the hotels had not got any permission for the blockade of roads and had illegally occupied the roads. The Subcommittee observed why the local administration needed a permission from the Ministry to undo an illegal act. Convener of the Subcommittee, Talha Mahmood, disclosed a verbal agreement between the administration of the hotels and Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik, while quoting the Minister that he had accepted it.

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