ISLAMABAD – The ambitious US$1 billion plan of the United States to expand its presence in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad underscores Washington’s resolve to consolidate its presence in the region, particularly in pursuit of the endgame in the “war on terror”.
This marks the beginning of direct American handling of “war and peace” diplomacy in the region, following the forging of a seamless relationship between the Pakistani military establishment and the US military. (See Pakistan-US plan falls into place Asia Times Online, July 24, 2009.)
Standing in the way are Pakistan’s restive tribal areas and the seemingly never-ending – and escalating – Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan’s Pashtun provinces.
According to reports, the US will spend $405 million on the reconstruction and refurbishment of its main embassy building in the diplomatic enclave of the capital; $111 million for a new complex to accommodate 330 personnel; and $197 million to construct about 250 housing units.
For this purpose, the US Embassy has acquired about 7.2 hectares of land at what is widely considered a mark-down price of 1 billion rupees (US$12 million), courtesy of the state-run Capital Development Authority. A Turkish firm has already built a 153-room compound for the embassy.
The fortress-like embassy will eventually accommodate close to 1,000 additional personnel being sent to Islamabad as part of the US administration’s decision to significantly raise its profile in the country. The new staffers will augment the current 750-strong American contingent already based in Pakistan; this against a sanctioned strength of 350.
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