ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary committee on Tuesday directed the government to resolve issues surrounding the ownership of Flashman Hotel so it may be revived.

“Flashman faces many obstacles,” Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Zulfiqar Bukhari told the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat.

“One such problem is that the army also wants it for security concerns,” he added.

The committee met to discuss the problems the government is facing in reviving the Flashman Hotel in Rawalpindi.

Senators learned that the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation(PMDC) handed over ownership of the hotel to the army in an agreement in 1995. The details of the agreement were kept from the members, but committee chair Senator Javed Abbasi directed the PTDC to share them.

The committee members said the hotel had deteriorated because of the neglect and incompetence of successive governments. Over-employment, the hotel’s lack of capacity and restrictions from the military regarding additional storeys to increase accommodation were found to be some of the problems facing the hotel’s restoration.

“Flashman Hotel has a lot of potential only if the facility is commercialised. Consultants are being engaged to assist the government on how to breathe new life into this facility and make it profitable again,” Mr Bukhari said.

He said building a shopping mall in the hotel’s underutilised space was also an option, among others.

“Reviving Flashman is not difficult. Although the military has security concerns, the government is negotiating with the armed forces. We will have good news about reviving the hotel from its dreadful state soon,” he said.

Mr Bukhari asked the committee for three months to present the members with a comprehensive financial plan for the hotel.

He said reviving the hotel was one of the government’s top priorities and consultants have 45 days to give a plan for it.

In response to requests from committee members regarding the responsibility and penalties for officials who caused the hotel to run into loss, Mr Bukhari said he would present a white paper listing individuals responsible. He added that officials in charge of the facility in the past were mostly politically appointed.

He said that other than uncertainty regarding the hotel’s ownership, expenditure on human resource is the next significant problem. Of the Rs178 million Flashman Hotel generated last year, more than Rs165m went to meeting employees expenses.

Other problems include substandard services, the facility’s condition and nonexistent marketing and promotion.

Senator Abassi said the government “should also come up with a plan to recover the losses from such officials.”

The committee urged the government to pursue the option of commercialising Flashman Hotel, such as by renting it to an enterprise that could invest in it and earn a profit.

“Reviving Flashman is out of the government’s league,” Senator Abbasi remarked.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2019