Defence minister breaks ground on state lounge at Islamabad airport
Khawaja Asif laid the foundation stone on Thursday for a facility meant to receive heads of state arriving for the SCO summit in August 2027.
Federal Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif laid the foundation stone for a new State Lounge at Islamabad International Airport on Thursday, a facility the government says will receive visiting heads of state and foreign delegations during the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in Islamabad in August 2027.
The Pakistan Airports Authority, which runs the airport, said the lounge is meant to improve state protocol and hospitality arrangements for heads of state, foreign dignitaries, senior government officials and international delegations coming for the summit.
Secretary Defence Lt Gen Muhammad Ali (retd) and the PAA director general, AVM Muhammad Shahid Afzaal, attended the ceremony along with senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and the authority, Business Recorder reported.
Speaking at the event, the PAA director general said the project would upgrade protocol and hospitality infrastructure at the airport, particularly with the summit in view. After the groundbreaking, the minister unveiled a commemorative plaque and took part in a tree plantation, which the ministry presented as a sign of its environmental commitments.
The airports authority described the work as part of wider efforts to strengthen national infrastructure and improve facilities for high-level international engagements hosted in Pakistan. Minute Mirror reported that the lounge is being developed to provide international-standard hospitality services and to make receptions for official visits more organised.
Business Recorder reported that the SCO Council of Heads of State Summit is scheduled to be held in Islamabad in August 2027. Minute Mirror referred to the coming SCO summit without giving a date.
The government did not announce a cost estimate for the lounge or a date for its completion.
The council of heads of state is the highest body of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, whose members include China, Russia, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian states. Pakistan joined the organisation in 2017.
How the reports differ
Business Recorder dated the SCO heads of state summit to August 2027 and named Secretary Defence Lt Gen Muhammad Ali (retd) and PAA director general AVM Muhammad Shahid Afzaal among those at the ceremony; Minute Mirror's report carried neither the summit date nor the officials' names. Minute Mirror described the lounge as providing international-standard hospitality services and a more organised reception for official visits, wording Business Recorder did not use. Both attributed the project's stated purpose to the Pakistan Airports Authority.
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