Rangers to secure Margalla Hills

Following a terror threat, the security for Margalla Hills was beefed up by deploying 200 more rangers on Wednesday.
The Rangers were deployed at the middle portions of the hills while the aerial surveillance of the area also continued.
Earlier, 10 sensitive points on the top of the Margalla Hills were handed over to the Rangers. It is relevant to note here that intelligence agencies warned the Islamabad police on Monday that terrorists might launch a missile attack on important city buildings from the Margalla Hills in an attack similar to the hit in Kakul on the Pakistan Military Academy (PMA) last week. The intelligence agencies got the information from terrorists arrested from Taxila for their alleged involvement in the attack at the PMA Kakul Academy last Friday.
During the investigations, the terrorists said two of their aides were hiding in the Margalla Hills and planned to target sensitive installations from there. Meanwhile, an important meeting was held at the Chief Commissioner’s Office to review the city’s security. The meeting was chaired by Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Amir Ahmed Ali and was attended by Security DIG Dr Majeeb-ur-Rehman, Major Bahdar from the Rangers and Frontier Constabulary officers.
A source told Pakistan Today that it was decided that the Rangers would perform security duties on the top and middle portion of the hills; the FC would secure the foothills while the police would patrol the area on foot.
ICT to set up rural zoo: The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration has decided to establish a zoo in an Islamabad rural area.
The zoo will be established in the Kirpa Village near Miraj Dam II. The Islamabad district, which has 12 Union Councils, does not have any recreational facility. The zoo would be the first facility for the population of 0.8 million.
An ICT administration official said the survey of the area had been completed and 136 kanals of land set aside for the purpose.
When contacted, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed confirmed the report. The DC said the Sindh Rangers will provide 100 deer to the zoo.
The DC stated that during the project’s first phase, the ICT will utilise 136 kanals of its own land, with simple fencing for keeping in the deer. Later a state-of-the-art zoo would be established there.
He added that the deer would be kept in open areas and visitors would use elevated walkways to view them. He said the zoo’s fencing work would be started in the first week of March.
Islamabad has only one zoo, the Marghazar Zoo, which is situated in the urban area of the district. However, the zoo does not house any exotic animals, such as lions and is in dire of attention from the city managers.