The Pakistan government has finally decided to turn the red zone in Islamabad which houses foreign diplomatic missions and other VIP buildings into a ‘walled city’ or ‘green zone’ by constructing a fence and installing scanners around it to make the place more safer for the foreign diplomats as well as the parliamentarians.
According to well placed government sources, the ten-foot-high steel fence that would be erected around the red zone would cover a vast area of 13 kms.
The Pakistani authorities have adopted the concept of the green zone or walled city from Baghdad where the US troops have declared a vast area as the international zone (formerly as green zone), where the US authorities live and work.
The main objective behind construction of the ten-foot-high fence is to stop explosive-laden vehicles from entering the sealed area because suicide bombers used heavy vehicles to hit their targets.
Gates will be installed at the entry and exit points of the security zone with installation of CCTV cameras, scanners for checking vehicles and construction of police guard rooms.
The sources say the plan was first conceived following the devastating suicide blast outside Marriott hotel in Islamabad that claimed 53 lives on September 20, 2008.
The green zone or walled city will provide security cover to many of the important buildings including diplomatic missions, parliament house, president house, prime minister house, prime minister secretariat, supreme court building, parliament lodges, constitution avenue, ministers colony, judges colony, Punjab house, frontier house, Balochistan house and Sindh house.
