Army Eyes
its Biggest Real Estate Catch in Hotbed Islamabad
By
M T Butt
ISLAMABAD,
March 11: The Pakistan Army is all set to grab the most lucrative
and the best urban real estate in the country, worth billions
of rupees, in the Capital City of Islamabad where not just the
Army Headquarters will be shifted but Generals will build their
mansions and a huge golf course would sit in the middle of Army
messes.
According to one senior politician,
Islamabad would be turned into an Army Cantonment once this land
is occupied by the Generals, also making the city as a prime military
target for the enemy.
The Army is acquiring these lands
in the name of shifting the General Head Quarters from Rawalpindi
to Islamabad, just about 20 miles away, but the real purpose is
to provide residential lands to Generals and Brigadiers in the
Capital City at dirt cheap official rates.
Already
the plan has come under severe attack by politicians who think
the shifting of the GHQ from Rawalpindi was an excuse for the
Generals to grab real estate which they could otherwise never
dream of in their life and careers.
But
General Musharraf has turned a deaf ear to all criticism about
the corporatization of the army and its indulgence in businesses
ranging from making fertilizer to dairy farming and poultry to
banks and airlines.
According
to analysts under General Musharraf the Pakistan Army has gone
on a mad rampage to grab and conquer its own territory for its
own top brass which had brought the entire institution of the
Army under severe criticism and undermined its reputation and
prestige among the people. The Generals are now seen not as defenders
of the country but as greedy businessmen out to loot and plunder
in the name of national security.
The loudest political voice so
far has come from the brave leader of Nawaz Sharif’s PML
who said in Islamabad the Army command structure should not be
placed in heart of the capital, which will make the capital a
prime military target and put the civilian population at a great
risk.
Ahsan
Iqbal, Chief Coordinator PML-N and former Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission (pix top left) appealed to the military leadership
to review its decision of constructing a new Army City in Islamabad
including the GHQ on prime real estate.
He
said: "It is very surprising that army leadership is
acquiring additional prime real estate measuring thousands of
acres in addition to 8,000 kanals it acquired in 1991 for the
purposes of establishing GHQ.”
“The GHQ should be built
within the original land earmarked for the project and the additional
land being given to GHQ should be auctioned to the public with
its proceeds going for education and other social sectors,”
Iqbal said.
Ahsan Iqbal was one of the politicians
who was arrested after the Musharraf coup in 1999. He then told
the New York Times: ''They handcuffed me, put a black hood over
my head, threw me in a car and put a blanket over me. They took
me to one of their safe houses.''
The Daily Times quoted him saying:
“It is very surprising that the army leadership is acquiring
additional prime real estate measuring 23,700 kanals of land whose
market value is over Rs 25 billion. The army had already acquired
23,300 kanals of land in 1991 for the purpose of establishing
the GHQ at a very nominal cost. The project includes messes, a
golf course and residences.
Mr Iqbal dismissed the alleged
propaganda that Pakistan Army lacked resources to match the imbalance
created by the recent increase in the Indian defence budget.
He
said that billions of rupees were being spent on the construction
of offices, messes and residences. “The Indian military
is seeking to modernize its arsenal with 300 Russian T-90 battle
tanks, licensed production of 150 Su-30 front-line combat aircraft,
upgradation of 125 MiG 21s, British Hawk advanced jet trainers,
Mid-life upgrades for MiG 27 and MiG 29 fighters, Soviet Navy
aircraft carrier, Admiral Gorshkov, and 40 sea-based Mig 29 K
fighters.”
Mr Iqbal stated that an army command
structure should not be placed in the heart of Islamabad because
it would make the federal capital a prime military target and
put the civilian population at great risk.
He added that the GHQ should remain
in its present location for sometime and if there is a compelling
case for constructing a new GHQ on the pattern of Malaysian Putrajaya,
the modern capital, then it should be constructed either on the
Islamabad-Lahore motorway or some other suitable location away
from the capital.
“By
establishing an army complex in the heart of the capital, Islamabad
will lose its civil character and become a cantonment.”
