What will become of the young ones?

After destroying the only children’s library in Islamabad, the CDA has no plans of constructing another anytime soon.

After destroying the only children’s library in Islamabad, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has no plans of constructing another anytime soon.

The lone children’s library was constructed in 1991 on a one-kanal plot in Sector G-6 near Lal Masjid and was catering to about 50,000 children a year, aged seven to 14.

In 1998-1999, another kanal of land, close to the children’s library, was purchased for the construction of a women’s library.

A proposal was prepared for the women’s library, but before anything could materialise, Lal Masjid forcibly occupied the empty plot and Jamia Hafsa madrassa was constructed on it.

The Ministry of Education wrote several letters to the CDA but they did not take any action against Lal Masjid.

The children’s library found itself between the madrassa and the mosque. After the operation on Lal Masjid in July 2007, the library was bulldozed.

Out of the 15,000 books at the library, many of which were imported, about 8,000 were saved and transferred to the National Library near
the Prime Minister’s Secretariat.

Since the National Library is within the city’s high-security zone, access to it is limited.

Several officials have been contacted about this issue, including the Sectary, Cabinet Division, the Ministry of Interior, members in the CDA Urban Planning Directorate and the CDA Chairman himself.

Several meetings have been held as well, but no concrete plans have come forward to provide Islamabad with a children’s library.

A meeting was held as recently as last week with CDA officials, requesting space in Aabpara for a new library, as it is an easily accessibly location.

The Ministry of Education has been fighting with the CDA for the past two years, to either get a suitable, alternate space which is easily accessible for children or to get their two-kanal land back so they can construct a new library.

The CDA has attached the matter to the Lal Masjid case and is awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court. The Ministry insists that the issue is independent of the Lal Masjid case.

Syed Ghayoor Hussain Shah, Deputy Director Admin, Department of Libraries, Ministry of Education told The Express Tribune that educational movies, storytelling hours and various educational activities used to be available in the library.

“Children used to come twice or thrice a day to get books, the way they go to get candy,” Shah said.

Malik Saleem, spokesperson CDA, said that an alternative children’s library was not in the pipeline as yet.

“Lal Masjid administration believes there are still people buried at the site of the siege and the place carries great significance for them, so they will not allow any sort of construction to take place there,” he added.

“We will allot an alternative plot for the library when the existing plot near Lal Masjid is handed over to the CDA,” said Ramzan Sajid, spokesperson CDA.

The plot is currently under the control of Lal Masjid, and the mosque administration has placed barbed wires all around it.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 7^th, 2010.