PPP’s Raza Rabbani calls for placing pact with US for redeveloping Roosevelt Hotel before Parliament

PPP stalwart and former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani on Friday said that the deal inked with the United States to redevelop the Roosevelt Hotel in New York “must be placed” in Parliament. In a press release, Rabbani said, “The strategic economic initiative, including collaboration with the US General Services Administration, regarding the operation, maintenance, renovation and redevelopment of the Roosevelt Hotel has been signed without taking the people into confidence.” Rabbani said the hotel was “prime property” in New York and dealings pertaining to it must be transparent. “Parliament should have been taken into confidence before signing such memoranda of understanding (MoUs),” he said. He further highlighted that earlier, a deal with the US relating to minerals in Balochistan was “broken by international media”. “Till date, the details of this deal have not been made public,” he said. Rabbani further said that the PPP should move a private members’ bill, wherein all foreign agreements, once signed, would need ratification in Parliament. “I had moved such a bill when in the Senate,” he said. The remarks come a day after Pakistan and the US signed an MoU to launch a structured framework for cooperation on the future of the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, marking a key development in Islamabad’s efforts to secure maximum value for the landmark property under its privatisation strategy. According to the finance ministry, the agreement was finalised in Washington and executed by US General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Edward C. Forst and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff witnessed the signing. “It establishes a structured, time-bound framework for joint evaluation of the technical, commercial, and economic parameters of cooperation, reflecting a shared commitment to transparent, disciplined, and mutually beneficial progress,” the ministry said. The statement noted the Roosevelt Hotel’s prime location in Manhattan and the complexity of New York zoning and municipal process, saying the “institutional coordination aims to reduce execution risk, enhance regulatory clarity, and maximise transaction value”. “Such facilitative frameworks are consistent with international practice in cross-border real estate and infrastructure projects,” it added. “The objective remains to secure maximum value for this property in alignment with the government’s privatisation strategy while strengthening Pakistan-United States economic ties,” the statement concluded. Named after former US president Theodore Roosevelt, the century-old property 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.

By none@none.com (News Desk)