The risky lodges: Action against illegal occupants from next week

Despite calling attention to unauthorised persons residing in the Red Zone, they have yet to be cleared out.

ISLAMABAD:

A parliamentary panel has directed the administration and the police to take action against illegal occupants in Parliament Lodges, who may turn out to be a security risk.

The National Assembly’s House and Library Committee, on Tuesday, directed the Secretariat Police and the lodges’ administration to take action against illegal residents “who were posing a security threat” to parliamentarians.

“We have decided to completely close down the lobbies in the lodges to clear up the mess there. A notice in this regard will be displayed on Wednesday,” National Assembly Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi, who chaired the meeting, told The Express Tribune.

Some parliamentarians had opposed the idea of creating lobbies at the start and they were right.

“Some people have genuine issues with accommodating their servants and security guards but the real troublemakers are those people living illegally at the lodges with members’ permission.”

The parliamentarians’ acquaintances and people from their constituencies stay in the side rooms and servant quarters by signing their applications, said an official of the lodges’ administration.

He said the situation had spiralled out of control as some parliamentarians had failed to keep track of the people staying with their permission, which was not legal either.

Kundi said the administration had been directed to take action against illegal occupants of servant quarters this week.

The committee members were of the view that illegal occupants in the lobbies and side rooms of the lodges are also a “security threat besides an intrusion in the privacy of the families of parliamentarians residing in them.”

The committee members directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to issue notices to all illegal occupants to vacate lobbies, side rooms and servant quarters before initiating action. They have asked CDA to collect the particulars of the occupants of servant quarters as well.

The director, Parliament Lodges, informed the committee that a survey on the illegal occupants was conducted by CDA and the city police and a list was prepared which showed that nine servant quarters out of 121 were still locked.

“We do not yet know who is living in these quarters as they were locked [we went to check],” said the director who was instructed by the committee to find out who lived in these quarters as soon as possible.

The officials told the committee that they circulated pro formas to gather information from all the members living in the lodges on the number of their staff members and personal servants accompanying them, who need accommodation.

“Only 48 pro formas have been received so far,” said the director. The deputy speaker has directed the CDA to actively pursue parliamentarians for the requisite information.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2012.