ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: Over 50 cameras will be installed at important and sensitive points in the federal capital to provide foolproof security cover to foreign delegates who will be attending Saarc summit in January 2004.
This was said by Interior Minister Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat while talking to Dawn on Sunday.
The minister said the process of installation of cameras had started in the capital. He said a control room was being established in the office of chief commissioner Islamabad to monitor the activities of suspects.
“I have also directed the CDA to install sodium streetlights (yellowish lights) all over the capital, specially at places like Pir Sohawa, Daman-i-Koh, Shakarparian and Rawal Dam,” he said.
Mr Hayat said installation of the sodium streetlights would put an additional burden on the CDA, therefore, he asked the authority to do it phase-wise.
Talking about the recent reshuffle in the CDA, the minister said the residents of Islamabad would see a drastic change in terms of beautification after the appointment of Kamran Lashari as CDA chairman.
He said another big reshuffle in the CDA and the ICT administration was in the offing within the next few days. He said Mr Lashari was the best replacement of Chaudhry Abdul Rauf.
He said Mr Rauf was also a seasoned officer, therefore, he had been appointed as additional secretary in the interior ministry.
The minister said Mr Lashari had been given a task to make Islamabad more presentable before the start of the Saarc Summit to be held in the capital on January 2004.
Meanwhile, the newly appointed Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman, Kamran Lashari, on Sunday vowed to make Islamabad more presentable ahead of the forthcoming Saarc Summit and SAF Games.
Mr Lashari told Dawn by telephone that he wanted to maintain the capital systematically. “The first target given to me is to enhance the natural beauty of the capital and maintain cleanliness,” the CDA chief said.
He said he would take charge of his office on Tuesday and find out the ways to streamline the working of various directorates of the Authority. Mr Lashari said he had many ideas to make Islamabad a hub of recreational activities. He said the residents of Islamabad would soon see a visible change in the environment and beauty of the capital.
Meanwhile, a source in the CDA told Dawn that Mr Lashari has been tasked with upgrading all parks in the capital on the pattern of famous parks in Lahore. In this connection, the interior minister, Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat, has directed the Parks Horticultural Association (PHA) official to prepare a special plan for beautification of the Capital and modernize all its parks.