ISLAMABAD: The authorities in Pakistan’s capital have decided to formally try the United Nations (UN) offices for their refusal to pay heed to the law of the land by using residential areas for illegal use.
These influential violators have so far given the cold shoulder to the pleas of the authorities. Finding no other resort to check the UN from using the residential areas against the law, the authorities have referred the case to the deputy commissioner for starting a formal trial.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) moved against the United Nations Food Programme (UNFP) and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) following a complaint by a sitting member of parliament - Senator Saadia Abbasi.
Herself a barrister, Senator Abbasi has been contacting the CDA and served legal notices on the UNFP and the UNAMA in December last taking the plea that the existence of the UN offices in Street 2 of F-8/3 is a clear violation of the CDA by-laws.
She had regretted that the UN agencies have clearly shown they have no respect for this country, its people or its laws.
Besides the UNFP and UNAMA, the case of the UN House's controversial shifting to another residential sector of the federal capital is already pending before an Islamabad court. Ironically, despite the court's stay order the international agency has started shifting to the residential area.
A CDA letter reveals that after Senator Abbasi's complaint, the authority issued notices to the owner and the occupant of the houses occupied by the UNFP and the UNAMA.
However, these notices fell on deaf ears as the CDA admitted that the owner/occupant did not remove the non-conforming use. Following this, the CDA referred the matter to its deputy commissioner for a formal trial.
"The cases are presently in the court of the DC, CDA," said the CDA letter written to Saadia Abbasi.
The senator is informed that the deputy commissioner CDA has now got additional powers after suitable amendment in the Zoning Regulation 2005.
"Now the owner will pay Rs500,000 fine on first conviction. After 15 days, if he persists with non-conforming use he will be fined Rs5,000 per day. After three months, the plots of such violators will be cancelled," assured the CDA letter.
Violations of local laws by no less an agency than the UN are watched with great interest for the reason that the UN is the champion of rule of law anywhere in the world and also of good governance in Pakistan.
The international agency has launched different projects to teach the host country the lesson of respecting rule of law.
The UN is one amongst those international agencies that was gifted acres of high priced land in the Diplomatic Enclave but instead of constructing its own building there, the UN agencies have been housed in residential buildings in different sectors of Islamabad.
Resident Co-ordinator and the UNDP Resident Representative Jan Vandemoortele had earlier confirmed that the government of Pakistan has gifted acres of land to the UN in the Diplomatic Enclave many years ago but the international agency has not yet constructed any of its buildings there.
According to Vandemoortele, lack of resources was the reason for the non-construction of the UN building on the gifted land in the area specified for diplomatic corps. - Internews |
