Pakistan government opens President House to public for a day

The Pakistani government on Saturday opened the President House here for the general public as part of its plans to allow public access to government-owned buildings.

Tahir Khushnood, spokesman for the President House, said the public was allowed to enter the building by showing national identity cards from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Khushnood said the decision was in line with the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's promise that common people will be allowed to enter state-owned buildings, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that the Governor's houses in the country's Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces had already been opened to the general public.

Khushnood had earlier said that the government decided to open the President House only for one day and no decision was made to make it a regular feature.

Located in the highly-secured Red Zone area of Islamabad, the President House, which was once a no-go area for the public, represents a modern step pyramid architectural style and is flanked by the Prime Minister House on the one side and the Parliament building on the other.

People were allowed to visit a mini zoo, green front and rear lawns and the historic halls, where oath-taking ceremonies of several heads of governments and states, ministers have taken place. - IANS