37 embassies functioning in residential areas, Lashari tells Senate committee

ISLAMABAD - Chairman of CDA Kamran Lashari told Senate Standing Committee on Interior Saturday that as many as 37 embassies and foreign missions were functioning in residential areas.

The Committee expressed its concerns over functioning of embassies, foreign missions and their attached offices in residential areas of the Capital. The committee meeting, chaired by Senator Talha Mehmood, formed a sub-committee to take up the issue with the Foreign Office and embassies to ensure their relocation from residential areas to the Diplomatic Enclave.

Senators Sadia Abasi and Col (R) Tahir Hussain Mashadi said due to functioning of foreign missions, embassies and their offices in residential areas the people were facing problems besides security threat.

Chairman of Capital Development Authority (CDA) Kamran Lashari said it was domain of Foreign Office to pursue the matter with the embassies and foreign missions to shift to the Diplomatic Enclave. He told the meeting that total area of existing diplomatic enclave was 795.28 acres. "There are a total 56 plots allotted to embassies, 37 are lying vacant despite many embassies have constructed their buildings in diplomatic enclave", he added.