PESHAWAR: It would take at least three years to complete the shifting of the Frontier Corps headquarters from the Bala Hisar Fort from the time funds are made available to undertake construction work at its new premises in Shakas in Jamrud, officials said.The government has identified Shakas as the new site for the Frontier Corps headquarters, but the process to allocate funds and acquire land hasn’t started yet.Security officials told The News that an amount of Rs3 billion is needed to construct new Frontier Corps offices, accommodation and stores, workshops, halls, weapons kotes, ammunition magazines, training facilities, etc.They pointed out that another Rs3 billion is required for building the headquarters of Frontier Corps South. They said request for this amount was made four years ago, but the funds have yet to be made available. The Frontier Corps South headquarters is functioning in makeshift and rented accommodation in Dera Ismail Khan and Wana, which is the main city in South Waziristan.It may be added that the paramilitary Frontier Corps, whose officers are drawn from the Pakistan Army, has now been split into two wings in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Earlier, the Bala Hisar Fort was the headquarters of the undivided Frontier Corps. Now the Frontier Corps North is headquartered at the Bala Hisar Fort in Peshawar while the Frontier Corps South has its headquarters in Dera Ismail Khan.It is now confirmed that the government has in principle taken a decision to shift the Frontier Corps headquarters from Bala Hisar Fort and take the possession of the fort. Prime Minister Imran Khan had reportedly taken personal interest in the matter and agreed with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that Bala Hisar Fort should be handed over to it for promoting it as a tourist spot. The provincial Tourism Minister Mohammad Atif Khan played an active role in the efforts to get the fort vacated.Questions are being asked whether the provincial government would be able to maintain the fort the way it has been maintained by the Frontier Corps. The fort is presently opened on the weekend for visitors and a large number of people avail this opportunity. One such visitor to the Bala Hisar Fort last week was Atta Ansari, a Pakistani-Norwegian based in Oslo. He told The News it was his old wish to pay his first-ever visit to Peshawar and see some of its landmarks such as the majestic Bala Hisar Fort.A security official posed a question whether the provincial government would be able to handle the almost 10,000 visitors to the fort every weekend.The Frontier Corps is already in possession of land in Phase 7 in the upscale Hayatabad town, located on the edge of the boundary between Peshawar district and the newly merged Khyber tribal district, where it has built some barracks, workshops and residential buildings. However, it wants more land in Shakas located close to its Hayatabad Phase 7 complex to meet its requirements.Mohammad Atif Khan, the provincial tourism minister, was quoted having said that the federal government would provide Rs350 million to acquire 35 acres of land in Shakas and another Rs2 billion for construction of buildings for the Frontier Corps. He added that PC-1 had been prepared for the two projects.Though it would take time to get the Bala Hisar Fort vacated, the PTI government would be justified in taking credit for using the historic fort for tourism purposes if it happens before the end of its rule in 2023. Most previous governments in the province had announced plans to seek shifting of the Frontier Corps headquarters from Bala Hisar Fort and develop it as a tourism spot, but this couldn’t be done.
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2KDjqrX
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