RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Development Authority has proposed the construction of a multi-storey parking plaza for Rs2.5 billion in a parking lot adjacent to the Liaquat Bagh – a move that is expected to eradicate the site for the Benazir Bhutto Monument outside the park.

The PPP leader was slain in a suicide-gun attack in December 2007 after she delivered a speech at the same park in the lead up to the 2008 elections. After the construction of the parking plaza, the monument would likely vanish since the boundary wall, which is right next to the proposed memorial site, would be demolished.

Over the last 18 years, PPP workers and leaders have made announcements to construct the monument at the site where Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. However, the site was turned into a prayer site for party workers and all the rallies and main functions would be held at this site.

It may be mentioned here that in the last tenure of PPP and PML-N, many PPP leaders, including former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, made announcements to build a library and a monument to pay tribute to the services of Benazir Bhutto.

Former commissioner Noorul Amin Mengal in 2022 started the work to acquire the state land from the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA) to construct the monument. The National College of Arts had been asked to come up with a design, but the work stopped after his transfer to Islamabad as the chief commissioner.

PPP leaders said they were not aware of the development project. PPP Workers (Naheed Khan group) leader Ibne Rizvi said that they were not aware and would check the details of the project and take up the matter with the administration.

However, a local leader of PPP said that the matter was strange as former PM Yousaf Raza Gilani announced the construction of the monument at the site. “We are not against the parking plaza, but the site selection is not correct, as this is the site where BB was assassinated; this holds more value for us,” he said.

Meanwhile, an RDA official told Dawn that the proposal was sent to the planning and development department for the construction of the parking plaza but it would be constructed if Wasa agreed to give them an NOC. At present, Wasa parks water bowsers at the location. The official said the project was proposed by local lawmakers and the proposal was sent to the planning department for its consideration in the 2025-26 Annual Development Programme.

He said the site was located in the heart of the economic hub, including 10 wholesale markets and bazaars, adding that these markets served the entire Potohar region. However, parking spaces are scarce in the area, leading to frequent traffic jams.

A Wasa official said the RDA sought a suggestion and the sanitation agency demanded the ground floor in the proposed plaza for the parking of their water bowsers as well as a share in the revenue generated by the plaza. He said the final decision had not been made yet. He, however, said that in the future, the land would be used for the construction of underground storage tanks once Chahan Dam and Daducha Dam are completed.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025