ISLAMABAD – The government has allocated 2,450 acres of land to relocate the military headquarters, known as General Headquarters (GHQ), from Rawalpindi to Islamabad, according to Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Zamirul Hassan.

Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Defence on Thursday, the official said that 5,000 families would be relocated to a different place for construction of a defence complex in the capital.

He said the defence complex would be built at a cost of Rs100 billion and the money would be provided by the Pakistan Army, reported Voice of America Urdu.

It was also revealed that the cost of construction estimated back in 2006 was Rs70 billion, however, the complex would now cost Rs 100 billion.

The plan to relocate the GHQ was under consideration since 1970 and a preliminary work had been completed in the last decade, however, the project came to a halt during the tenure of former army chief Gen (retd) Ashfaq Pervaiz Kayani.

Umer Khalid Khurasani’s Killing

The Defence Secretary detailed that Pakistan did not confirm information about the death of Umer Khalid Khurasani, the chief of the outlawed Jamaatul Ahrar faction of the Tehreeke-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Khurasani, whose group has carried out some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Pakistan, was reportedly killed in a US drone strike in eastern Afghanistan opposite Kurram Agency of Pakistan earlier this month.

According to Zamir, Khurasani’s picture circulated in the media was doctored.

‘There has been no US drone strike inside Pakistan in recent days’, he claimed.

About the security of Pak-Afghan porous border, Lt Gen (retd) Zamirul Hassan said the two neighbours share the 2,611-kilometre-long border.

He continued that Pakistani military had 975 posts along the border, while Afghan security forces had only 218 posts.

‘On the other hand, there is no military post along the 650-kilometre-long border between the two countries in Balochistan.’ he declared.