Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to redevelop the Roosevelt Hotel, signed between Pakistan and the US, must be placed in Parliament.
In a statement, he said the strategic economic initiative, including collaboration with the US General Services Administration (GSA) regarding the operation, maintenance, renovation and redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel, has been signed without taking the people into confidence.
Mr Rabbani stated that the Hotel is prime property in New York, dealings pertaining to or related with it must be transparent, adding that Parliament should have been taken into confidence before signing such MoU’s.
He said earlier a deal with a US firm related to minerals in Balochistan, was broken by the international media.
The Pakistan People’s Party(PPP), he said, should move a private members Bill in Parliament, wherein, all foreign agreements, once signed would need ratification of Parliament.
He said that he had moved such a Bill during his tenure in the Senate.
It is notable to mention that named after former US President Theodore Roosevelt, the century-old hotel in midtown Manhattan is seen as one of Pakistan’s most valuable foreign assets, which it acquired in 2000. Faced with mounting losses, the over 1,000-room hotel was shut in 2020, and has also operated briefly as a migrant shelter.
The hotel is located near marquee New York destinations such as Grand Central Terminal, Times Square, and Fifth Avenue, placing it in one of Manhattan’s most valuable commercial zones.
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