[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Iraq-like green zones being set up</span></b>[/center]
<b>ISLAMABAD : Authorities are seriously considering setting up Iraq and Kabul-like green zones in the federal and provincial capitals to prevent terrorist attacks, The News has learnt.
In another move to block money flowing to terrorist groups and organisations, the government is thinking of abolishing all exemptions allowed to people for keeping unexplained money, either for getting it taxed or otherwise.
An Interior Ministry source told The News that sensitive parts of the federal and provincial capitals would be turned into green zones in the weeks, if not in days to come. He added that offices would soon be listed for relocating to such green zones, if they were deemed sensitive and were operating outside the declared safe territory, in at least five major towns of the country.
That would mean the Iraq and Kabul-like green zones where entry would be restricted and scanning would be conducted on all the inlets and even at the gates of the sensitive-declared buildings.
âImplements, accessories and instruments, etc, required for this purpose are being imported in bulk,â said the source. He added that the Marriot attack had opened the eyes of the authorities to the need for taking such a drastic action.
The source said the British High Commission and the US embassy were already in contact with the authorities on the latest proposal to chop off the staffs at their respective missions, an undertaking for reducing security threats to their men and women on jobs in Pakistan.The source added that these missions were seriously considering sending back the women staff for security reasons.
He also revealed that the US and European missions had already expedited the exercise of calling in their respective experts helping in reducing the terror-related fear stress.On the other hand, the abolition of keeping unexplained incomes has already been initiated, a senior tax official explained. âThe fresh step, however, shall not hamper the operation of money-whitener schemes floated by the government, which are available until December 31, 2008,â said a senior tax official.
He said the last ThursdayâÃôs step taken to get the salaried peopleâs âother income sourcesâ declared was meant not just for taxing such income in future.âÃúIt is the beginning of an end to the facility available in Pakistan to people that could be suspected of financing terror activity, directly or indirectly,â he said.
In this connection, a number of experts are already conducting the exercise in some of the missions, he added.The official, while explaining how a sizeable part of the income-earning population was off the source-explaining list, said the terror experts who worked on the financial side of the issue recently visited the FBR and other finance-related institutions and handed over the authorities manuals that would help in preventing transfers of the unexplained incomes to the terrorist circles.
About six months ago, when they arrived in Islamabad and activated a programme of awareness creation in this connection, we were not alerted, he said. But now, he said, the higher officials were talking about measures to guard the sources of income which remain unexplained, so that tapping them should help prevent terror-financing, directly or indirectly.</b>
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>ISLAMABAD : Authorities are seriously considering setting up Iraq and Kabul-like green zones in the federal and provincial capitals to prevent terrorist attacks, The News has learnt.
In another move to block money flowing to terrorist groups and organisations, the government is thinking of abolishing all exemptions allowed to people for keeping unexplained money, either for getting it taxed or otherwise.
An Interior Ministry source told The News that sensitive parts of the federal and provincial capitals would be turned into green zones in the weeks, if not in days to come. He added that offices would soon be listed for relocating to such green zones, if they were deemed sensitive and were operating outside the declared safe territory, in at least five major towns of the country.
That would mean the Iraq and Kabul-like green zones where entry would be restricted and scanning would be conducted on all the inlets and even at the gates of the sensitive-declared buildings.
âImplements, accessories and instruments, etc, required for this purpose are being imported in bulk,â said the source. He added that the Marriot attack had opened the eyes of the authorities to the need for taking such a drastic action.
The source said the British High Commission and the US embassy were already in contact with the authorities on the latest proposal to chop off the staffs at their respective missions, an undertaking for reducing security threats to their men and women on jobs in Pakistan.The source added that these missions were seriously considering sending back the women staff for security reasons.
He also revealed that the US and European missions had already expedited the exercise of calling in their respective experts helping in reducing the terror-related fear stress.On the other hand, the abolition of keeping unexplained incomes has already been initiated, a senior tax official explained. âThe fresh step, however, shall not hamper the operation of money-whitener schemes floated by the government, which are available until December 31, 2008,â said a senior tax official.
He said the last ThursdayâÃôs step taken to get the salaried peopleâs âother income sourcesâ declared was meant not just for taxing such income in future.âÃúIt is the beginning of an end to the facility available in Pakistan to people that could be suspected of financing terror activity, directly or indirectly,â he said.
In this connection, a number of experts are already conducting the exercise in some of the missions, he added.The official, while explaining how a sizeable part of the income-earning population was off the source-explaining list, said the terror experts who worked on the financial side of the issue recently visited the FBR and other finance-related institutions and handed over the authorities manuals that would help in preventing transfers of the unexplained incomes to the terrorist circles.
About six months ago, when they arrived in Islamabad and activated a programme of awareness creation in this connection, we were not alerted, he said. But now, he said, the higher officials were talking about measures to guard the sources of income which remain unexplained, so that tapping them should help prevent terror-financing, directly or indirectly.</b>
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->