Security clearance sought for hotels

RAWALPINDI, April 17: The Special Branch has asked the district administration and police to carry out surveillance of all hostels and inns and take action against those found `unregistered`, Dawn has learnt. A source said hotel owners would be given a deadline to get themselves registered and obtain security clearance after which the unregistered ones would be closed. The move came after the Special Brach Rawalpindi conducted a survey through its surveillance staff and found that of the 286 hotels and 35 inns in the city, 17 were unregistered.The report said 10 of the hotels and inns were checked four months back while checking of 301 others was being done on a fortnightly basis. Citing the prevailing security situation across the country, the Special Branch asked the local police to review their security strategy and get the hotels and inns checked properly to avoid any untoward situation. The report also gave the details of the hotels and inns found involved in `immoral activities`. It also contained the names of hotels where liquor was available for the guests. According to the report; the number of hotels involved in `immoral` activities was 66. Of these, four were located in the jurisdiction of Civil Lines police, six in the City area, seven in Gunjmandi, six in Cantonment, 12 in Sadiqabad and nine in Waris Khan. When Regional Police Officer Hamid Mukhtar Gondal was contacted, he said he had already directed the police to keep strict vigilance on hotels and inns but without causing any inconvenience to the guests. A senior district administration official said surveillance of all the hotels would be carried out in the light of the report. He said anybody found involved in `immoral` activities and failing to get the security clearance would be treated according to the law. It may be mentioned that the local police serve notices and take legal actions against shops and other business premises if they are found without security guards. But when the RPO was asked about security of the hotels and inns, he remarked: "It is not the duty of the police to provide security to hotels as it is a private business."