Despite successive security warnings by intelligence agencies, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has turned a blind eye to the security of the F-9 Park, one of largest recreational parks in the country where not a single guard is available to check the luggage of visitors while the walkthrough gate has also been broken for a long time.
After the terrorist attack on Army Public School (APS), Peshawar and later on the Bacha Khan University, the government introduced stringent security measures for schools and colleges across the country. However, the attack on the Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Lahore has not evoked a similar response and the government is content with simply closing some of the parks on important occasions and then going on with life as usual.
Meanwhile, lives of thousands of people including children are at risk from a similar terrorist activity in this highly crowded park in the federal capital.
Urgency on the part of the government is, in fact, warranted because terrorists have said they are going to keep targeting civilian targets across the country.
In a recent security alert, the security agencies warned that 22 suicide bombers had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. Of them, three have already blown themselves up in KP.
According to details, intelligence agencies have said that 22 suicide bombers entered Pakistan from Afghanistan with the help of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s premier intelligence agency and the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) with the intention of carrying out terrorist attacks in major cities of Pakistan.
But despite the threat alerts, the authorities appear to be in deep slumber and have failed to take any preemptive measures to thwart terror attacks against citizens. The negligence speaks volumes about the incompetence lack of regard of the CDA bosses towards the security of the federal capital.
During a visit by a team of Pakistan Today, it was observed that 2,000 to 5,000 people are visiting the park on a daily basis, while the number increases significantly on weekends, but neither the visitors nor their luggage is being checked, putting at risk the lives of thousands of visitors as well as the sensitive installations of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) situated next to the park.
The park is also a source of revenue for the civic body; because thousands of people visiting the park pay entrance fee, but even then the authority has shown little concern to repair the damaged fences of the park from where a terrorist could easily enter.
Besides lack of security, the broken swings, overgrown grass and shrubs and out of order lighting system speaks volumes about the civic agency’s apathy towards the proper maintenance and management of the park.
An official present on the spot said about the lack of cleanliness and broken swings that the authority started repairing the swings, and some of them have already been repaired while the others will also be repaired soon.
The visitors have to face problems due to the non-functioning lighting system and overgrown grass and shrubs the in F-9 Park; especially those jogging in the park after evening. The official said it is true that the lighting system is not working for a long time, but he said that the higher ups of the authority have been informed about the situation; however, they are yet to take action.
Another employee told this scribe that the employees have been hired under a project for the maintenance of the park but the project has now ended. They were given assurance by the CDA chairman for regularisation of their services; however, despite a lapse of several moths no progress has been made in this regard, he said.
He went on to say that they were not being paid salaries and that he had received his salary this month after waiting for around four months.
CDA spokesperson Malik Saleem, when contacted, said that he had recently taken over and did not know about the conditions in the park. He said he could not say if any work was being done at the park but the civic body does work to maintain and repair the parks in the federal capital.
However, he said that the authority would take prompt action to fix the problems at the F-9 park, if there are any, and would leave no stone unturned in this regard.
