September 29, 2008	Monday	Ramazan 28, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Sept 28: City managers have opened a 30-shop market inside the Diplomatic Enclave to save the diplomatic community the security risks involved in going out for daily shopping.

“The main purpose is to facilitate the inhabitants of Diplomatic Enclave who used to go out to markets in the city for purchasing items of daily use,” Capital Development Authority's director urban planning Sarwar Sindhu told Dawn on Sunday.

It is a hurriedly built temporary facility, stocking grocery items, meat and other goods. Plans are to convert it into a proper supermarket at a later stage.

Some time back the CDA had proposed that like all residential sectors, the Diplomatic Enclave too should have a commercial Markaz but took no steps to implement it.

Security concerns of the diplomatic community have been rising for years and peaked last week after the truck bomb attack on the Marriott Hotel killed 53 people, including the ambassador of Czech Republic and six other foreigners.

Early this week some 120 foreign diplomats called on the prime minister’s adviser on interior, Rehman Malik, in a group to seek stringent measures for the protection of the diplomatic and expatriate community.

They wanted security to be beefed up around the embassies, especially those situated in residential areas, interior ministry sources said.

They emphasised the need for heavier security cover for the Diplomatic Enclave which houses more than 35 embassies.

Some foreign missions have closed their visa sections and issued travel advisories for their nationals intending to travel to Pakistan. The Pakistani government has already asked foreign missions located in residential areas to shift to Diplomatic Enclave which has the capacity to accommodate 30 more embassies.

Though many missions acquired plots in Diplomatic Enclave long ago, they have not constructed their chanceries there, making the work of Pakistani security departments more challenging.

Secretary interior briefed the envoys that the CDA has started work on expanding the Diplomatic Enclave to accommodate more embassies.

The work is likely to be completed by next year. “New Diplomatic Enclave would have better facilities for the foreign diplomats like a club, restaurants, physical fitness centres and shopping malls,” said CDA director Sarwar Sindhu.