Zubair Quresshi
Newly-elected Mayor of Islamabad Pir Adil Gilani has announced to move court against the federal government’s proposed plan for mortgaging Islamabad’s iconic F-9 Park that is also known as Fatima Jinnah Park.
During the maiden session of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) here Monday, some members of the council drew his attention towards the media reports that Islamabad’s F-9 park was on the federal cabinet’s agenda items list to consider for mortgaging.
Expressing serious concerns over the mortgaging of F-9 Park by the federal government, Pir Adil Gilani said that Park was meant for public recreation and a crown among all the parks of Islamabad and any attempt of borrowing by mortgaging the park will be opposed tooth and nail.
Adil Gilani said that Sukuk bonds would not be issued in exchange for F-9 Park in Islamabad.
Earlier, according to media reports, the federal government is considering mortgaging Islamabad’s biggest park in F-9 sector to get a loan of around Rs500 billion.
The proposal has been included in the agenda of the meeting of the federal cabinet scheduled to be held on Tuesday (today).
The meeting will be held through video link conference system which has been arranged at Prime Minister’s House and a committee room of the Cabinet Division.
The agenda item No six, moved by the Finance Division, is “Issuance of Domestic and International Ijara Sukuk Against Unencumbered Land of F-9 Park, Islamabad”.
According to reports, due to financial issues the government has decided to mortgage the F-9 Park of the federal capital to get a loan of about Rs500bn through issuing bonds.
The Capital Development Authority has already issued a no-objection certificate in this regard.
Earlier, a number of institutions, buildings and roads have been mortgaged during the tenures of successive governments to get loans through national and international bonds.
The F-9 park (Fatima Jinnah Park) is a public recreation park spread on 759 acres of land. The park is one of the largest covered green areas in Pakistan. It is named after Madar-i-Millat Fatima Jinnah.
