Cheetah786
PDF VETERAN
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 9,002
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's army chief Tuesday suspended the construction of a new multi-million dollar military headquarters in Islamabad because of the fallout from the global financial crisis, the military said.
The move comes as Pakistan seeks at least four billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund to stave of the threat of bankruptcy.
Being cognisant of the financial crunch being faced by Pakistan, COAS (Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani) has decided to suspend building of new GHQ at Islamabad, a military statement said.
The army shares the nation's quest for economic stability.
The project to shift GHQ to Islamabad from its present location in the adjoining garrison city of Rawalpindi was set to cost 60 billion rupees (750 million dollars), a defence ministry official said.
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Kayani, who took over as army chief from former president Pervez Musharraf in November, has taken this decision in view of the economic situation in the country.
The project was to finish in 2012 and up to 20 per cent of the work has been done so far, Abbas said.
The new army headquarters was controversial because of its huge cost and because the new site took up a chunk of prime real estate in Islamabad.
Kayani's move is likely to place extra pressure on the government to get to grips with the economic crisis gripping Pakistan.
His announcement follows calls by opposition leaders and experts for rich politicians including President Asif Ali Zardari to bring their money back to Pakistan from foreign accounts.
The move comes as Pakistan seeks at least four billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund to stave of the threat of bankruptcy.
Being cognisant of the financial crunch being faced by Pakistan, COAS (Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani) has decided to suspend building of new GHQ at Islamabad, a military statement said.
The army shares the nation's quest for economic stability.
The project to shift GHQ to Islamabad from its present location in the adjoining garrison city of Rawalpindi was set to cost 60 billion rupees (750 million dollars), a defence ministry official said.
Military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said Kayani, who took over as army chief from former president Pervez Musharraf in November, has taken this decision in view of the economic situation in the country.
The project was to finish in 2012 and up to 20 per cent of the work has been done so far, Abbas said.
The new army headquarters was controversial because of its huge cost and because the new site took up a chunk of prime real estate in Islamabad.
Kayani's move is likely to place extra pressure on the government to get to grips with the economic crisis gripping Pakistan.
His announcement follows calls by opposition leaders and experts for rich politicians including President Asif Ali Zardari to bring their money back to Pakistan from foreign accounts.