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Asia Pakistan diplomats go house hunting, say will miss Shanti Club
The cottages in a quiet corner of south Delhi that had been their home for many years are set to be bulldozed. And top Pakistani diplomats getting ready move out of the Shanti Sports Club in Vasant Kunj say they are going to sorely miss their old lives. Of the four, Shah Zaman Khan, Pakistan High Commission's minister (public affairs), has already moved to a new rented house in Vasant Vihar. Counsellor Abid Saeed is planning to move to Anand Niketan this week. The other two, Defence and Military Adviser Brigadier Mohammad Iqbal and Akhtar Ali Khan (first secretary, trade), are also set to move out of the club by next week. This was a wonderful place. It was quiet and had all facilities. We were living like a community there. Above all, children are going to miss it badly, Saeed told IANS. Saeed's feeling is shared by Khan, who said it had everything they were looking for: elegant living space far from the madding crowd, a sense of community, and recreational facilities like a swimming pool, squash court, cricket ground and tennis stadium. The club premises have served as home for Pakistani diplomats for nearly 15 years. The trouble started many years ago when the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) charged that Shanti Sports Club owner Satish Khosla had encroached upon 11.22 acres of land adjoining the sports complex and built residences which he rented to Pakistani diplomats. Khosla has denied charges of encroachment. After prolonged litigation between the DDA and the Shanti Sports Club over the years, the Supreme Court ordered the DDA in August 2009 to demolish the seven cottages and residences inside the complex by Nov 30 last year. The Pakistani diplomats sought the intervention of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) to prolong their stay. The MEA tried to help and managed to get them a reprieve of two months. But the DDA, armed with the Supreme Court order, is not ready to waste more time as it plans to build a road through the reclaimed land, which will connect 2,709 houses on either side of the club complex. They plan to use these houses as tourist lodges to accommodate people visiting India to watch the Commonwealth Games in October. mc/mj/mr ( 391 Words) 2010-02-08-16:25:17 (IANS)
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