Pakistan Bar Council Expresses Reservations Over US Embassy Expansion

Islamabad, Sept 16, IRNA – The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) has expressed its reservations over the expansion of US embassy in Islamabad and summoned a meeting of its executive committee on September 18 to discuss the issue, Local media reported. Legal experts agree that usually PBC shows its concerns over violation of constitution and issues which affect the independence of judiciary. The decision to discuss construction of embassy is something unusual of the council. PBC Vice Chairman Syed Qalbe Hassan, in a statement, alleged that the American Embassy put undue pressure on the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to get a site plan approved in violation of law and building rules. “After the expansion, the building will have the capacity to accommodate more than 5,000 American personnel with all latest equipment in close proximity to the Red Zone, Foreign Ministry offices, prime minister secretariat, presidential secretariat and all other important embassies of different countries,” he said. He said that it had been brought to the notice of PBC executive committee chairman Mian Abbas Ahmed that more than 10 petitions had been filed in the Supreme Court against the expansion but none of them had been fixed for hearing. It is time to stop the expansion otherwise, once it is constructed, it will become the US embassy area and Pakistan could not check activities there, he said. “According to the norms set by UN charter, once the building is constructed or established, Pakistan cannot interfere and object to the functioning of the US embassy,” he said./end