According to the press reports, plans are under way to construct additional lodges at Islamabad, as many as 96, for the parliamentarians. The six-storey complex, to be erected at an area of over two-acre, is estimated to cost Rupees 25 million. Also, the federal and provincial governments are reported to spend Rupees 690 million, for the purchase of bullet-proof vehicles and jamming devices required for the security of the elected and not-elected VVIPs.
It appears to be a novel methodology adopted by the government to deal with the menace of growing unemployment, in the historical Mughal emperors' style. Indeed, the construction of luxury lodges would create jobs for many, and purchase of special vehicles and equipment would benefit many! One wonders if other similar government schemes for poverty alleviation (or is it poverty elevation?) are on cards.