ISLAMABAD: More revelations have come out regarding the sale of the old building of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, which is connected to the defence sector. There was no regular advertisement and no regular bidding to get the best price, mainly due to the government selling the embassy building to its own favourites.
According to documentary evidence obtained, Washington-based Pakistani-American businessman Tanveer Ahmed has offered to buy the building for 7 million US dollars, however, sources are confirming that the government is selling the building for 6.8 million US dollars.
According to the documents obtained, the Pakistani-American businessman Tanveer Ahmed has presented the details of this matter to a private law firm in Islamabad, after which the law firm has informed the Registrar Supreme Court of Pakistan, Secretary to the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary Asad Majeed Khan. The letter has been written.
The letter has addressed the three institutions and asked them to maintain transparency in this matter and fulfil the legal requirements. This initiative was neither advertised nor bid on the website of the Embassy and the website of the Foreign Office in Islamabad, which is a clear violation of the PEPARA rules. The letter states that this move by the government has raised doubts about the transparency in the sale of the building, which has the status of a national asset.
The letter states that it should be ensured that the National Heritage building is sold to the highest bidder in the larger interest of the public and that prior to the sale, its advertisement should be done based on access to information. Under civil rights should be made public through the Foreign Office website, and transparency and rule of law should be maintained in this matter.
It should be noted that according to the report of Dawn newspaper, earlier The highest bid of about $6.8 million came from a Jewish group that wants to build a synagogue in the building, the second bid of about $5 million came from an Indian property agent, while the third bid of about $4 million came from a Pakistani. Installed by a real estate agent.
Earlier this month, Pakistani embassy officials told the media that one of the country’s three diplomatic properties in Washington, located on the city’s prime and best location, R Street, is set to be sold. Officials clarified that neither the old nor the new embassy building is being sold. There was a section.
The current embassy is in a new building constructed in the early 2000s, while the old embassy is near the Indian Embassy on Massachusetts Avenue in the heart of the city.
The embassy moved to a new building in the early 2000s but retained the old building and spent about $700 million renovating the building and the ambassador’s official residence nearby, Dawn newspaper reported. gone According to a Dawn newspaper report, the old R Street building of the Pakistani Embassy was purchased by Ambassador Syed Amjad Ali between 1953 and 1956.
According to a Dawn newspaper report, the old R Street building of the Pakistani Embassy was purchased by Ambassador Syed Amjad Ali between 1953 and 1956.
The old building of the embassy was bought by MAH Isfahani, the first ambassador of Pakistan to the US. Both buildings have been lying vacant for almost 20 years. A deal to sell the building was close but the government backed away from the issue after criticism in the media, a former ambassador said.
“We have already wasted a lot of money by keeping these buildings for so long,” the diplomatic official said, but the official dismissed reports that the embassy was unable to pay salaries to its diplomatic and other staff. Because it is selling its properties, the official said every employee of the embassy is paid on time.
