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| India-Pakistan |
| Lal Masjid kerfuffle causing property values to drop |
| 2007-05-24 |
| Known for serene, peaceful environment against the backdrop of Margalla hills, Sector E-7, Islamabad’s most posh sector, is now tense. Residents are in a state of fear. They prefer staying indoors, especially in the evening and at night. The parks and jogging tracks look deserted. Potential tenants are reluctant to rent houses, especially on the Hill Road. Foreigners, particularly diplomats are not interested in getting the contracts of their rented houses renewed. The property prices and rents have dropped considerably over the past few months. The reason behind all this is a possible crackdown on the Jamia Fareedia, a subsidiary of Lal Masjid, which has locked horns with the government over the occupation of a children’s library by its girl students, enforcement of Shariah, moral policing and abduction of policemen and intelligence personnel. Daily Times interviewed a number of residents of E-7 and no one favoured the idea of using force against the Lal Masjid and its two madrassas. They rather wanted the government to exercise restraint and carrying forward the process of dialogue with the clerics. In case of an operation, they unanimously opined, there would be bloodletting and thus, create law and order situation in the city. Property dealers complain of a sluggish business, these days. They said the Lal Masjid issue had adversely affected the property rates and rents. They said normally, a house, measuring 1,000 square yards, in this area, fetched a price of Rs 80 million to Rs 120 million some three months ago. But, they said, the price of such a house has dropped by 25 to 30 percent. Likewise, the house rents have also on the decrease with the same proportion. They said that foreigners were asking for houses in sectors other than E-7. They also said some of the houses, which had been vacated three months ago, still carried the ‘to let’ boards. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |