Three bidders have submitted offers to buy Pakistan's embassy in Washington, reported Pakistani newspaper Dawn. The highest bidder for the real estate is a Jewish group at $6.8 million. An Indian realty group placed the second highest bid at $5 million, followed by a Pakistani realtor at $4 million.
According to the report, the Jewish group wants to construct a synagogue inside the Pakistani Embassy building in Washington. Pakistan is selling a building in Washington that housed the nation's defence department from the middle of the 1950s to the beginning of the 2000s. The building's diplomatic status was, however, revoked in 2018 because it was no longer operational and thus subject to local taxes.
This action is seen as a means of alleviating some of the "crunch" that Pakistan is currently experiencing at home due to its severe economic crisis, the report added.
Pakistan embassy officials told Dawn that one of the country's three diplomatic properties in Washington, a building on the prestigious R Street NW, was for sale.
“We should follow this tradition, also because it will create a lot of goodwill in an influential American community, which wants to use it as a place of worship," a Pakistani realtor reportedly said.
The diplomatic complex on R Street NW in Washington, DC, has never undergone renovation. In order to determine whether the building should be sold as is or after some renovations, embassy officials in Washington are consulting an appraiser, according to the report. The official of the embassy said, “We are in no rush, and we will conclude a deal only if it benefits Pakistan." The sale has been authorised by the national cabinet.
Pakistan's debt has reached a new high of PKR 60 trillion. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan promised to reduce the country's debt while blaming his predecessors for causing the crisis.
Pakistan's Cabinet Committee on Privatisation requested on Monday that the privatisation commission appoint a financial adviser to lease the Roosevelt Hotel site in New York. The meeting was presided over by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.