Elevators Closed in Pakistan Government Building

Elevators at the Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat, which houses several government offices in Islamabad, have been closed by the Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), The News reports. The PWD says the lifts in the 16-story building, which was built in 1980 and renovated in 2005 after a fire, have passed their “useful life” and threatened the life of passengers. The PWD, which is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of all federally owned government buildings, recently wrote a letter to those public sector entities informing them about the closure of all Shaheed-e-Millat Secretariat elevators saying the lifts “are beyond economic repair due to unavailability of their parts.” The PWD revealed in the letter that funds for lift replacement had been approved by authorities in February 2021, but the funds were never received and there were delays, adding to the growing cost. According to the source, employees also claimed that there was an investigation into the elevator installation.