All the staffers of Marriott Hotel Islamabad would be paid two-month advance salary during this month while they would also continue getting salaries until the hotel starts operation in three months. "I am not worried about the hotel, but that saddens me most is the loss of precious lives," Sadruddin Hashvani, who owns Marriott Hotels said on Monday.
The hotel was ruined following deadly suicide attack on Saturday night that also claimed the lives of 53 people including four foreign nationals. It also injured 266 persons. "I could build ten more such hotels, but there is no alternative to human lives," Hashvani said.
He said renovation of the hotel has been started and it would complete in only three months. He said certain portions of the hotel including its structure were intact. When asked why his hotel was being targeted twice, he said Marriott was the 'symbol' of Islamabad. "It (Marriott) was the face of Islamabad...it's a attack on Islamabad...it's attack on Pakistan."
Hashvani said it was quite shocking to know as to how could a dumper packed with explosives get through the capital and make it easily to the highly fortified places. He said casualties as well as damage to property could have been reduced if there were some effective fire-fighting or other disaster management system.