THIS refers to a story (June 25th) about unauthorised construction in Islamabad’s E-11 and H-13 sectors, which have become a haven for the builder mafia.

The civic body, which is supposed to be the watchdog for building control, has been guilty of negligence for the last few years. Although a bit late, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has taken cognisance. NAB is one of the few institutions in our country which are still functional.

However, there is another kind of illegal construction I wanted to highlight. In the twin towers next to the Convention Centre on Constitution Avenue, the height of buildings was increased to create more apartments. In G-13 sector, where I live, there was a provision of four-storey apartment buildings in the original plan.

In 2009, the CDA and the Federal Housing Foundation colluded to increase the height to 14 storeys. This unilateral amendment in the original plan is also illegal the real stakeholders were never consulted.

Ex-Ambassador Javed Hafiz

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2018