Repair work at residence of Pak Permanent Rep to UN after fulfilling codal formalities’

ISLAMABAD : The repair work at the residence of Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York is being done fulfilling all codal requirements under the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Rules, the Spokesperson of Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui clarifying a report published in a section of press said as a heritage building, the local laws required that the government of Pakistan regularly maintained and repaired the building. The residence of Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to UN is a multi-storey government-owned property built in 1920 and was purchased by the government in 1965. The Spokesperson said the regular maintenance of the prestigious building if not carried out could result in further deterioration and cost the government of Pakistan even more. She mentioned that the Ministry had received a request for repair and maintenance from the Mission on 13th May 2020. “As per procedure, a seven-member committee on Funds for Improvement of Government Owned Buildings (FIGOB) headed by the Special Secretary (Admin/OP/A&C) recommended the proposed repair for the approval of Foreign Secretary,” she said. She said the Ministry conveyed the approval to the Mission on June 24. Farooqui said the amount sanctioned for the repairs inter-alia entailed change of pipes, sewer pipes, plumbing issues and several related civil works. She said the Ministry did not sanction an amount of US$ 225,000 as cited in the news report. The Spokesperson said the repair and maintenance costs were generally quite high in cities like New York.