RIP. Military airbases should be well away from built up areas. Chaklala Airbase was set up by RAF during British era and it was well away from the contonment but since then urban sprawl has spread out. Today it makes absolutely no sense in having airbase there. That land is valuable estate worth billions. It is ideal for housing. It should be redeveloped as low/medium end housing estate under the Naya Pakistan project. The military should then relocate further into the countryside of the Potohar. Same should apply to Nur Khan airbase.
Only in Pakistan do we see this absurd use of land in urban areas for military. In UK despite being a smaller country the military is based well away from expensive urban areas. Mostly it has bases on the land that is not even suitable for farming etc.
There is an air strip south of Rawalpindi, which would be best suited for light military logistics and other uses. Improvements in the road network from Rawalpindi and the new airport should allow the military to use the new airport, which is far enough outside the city to minimize the risk to civilians.
Chaklala should be shut down, but instead of handing it over to real estate developers, it should be turned in to a "central park" for Rawalpindi. its borders lined with educational institutions, museums, and high tech incubators to jump start the focus on human development.
A new metro bus line can be made, at ground level (to save on cost) extending from the current Chandani Chowk metro bus station (near Benazir Bhutto Hospital) all the way to Koral Chowk. This is at which point the line should be extended along Faisal ave and the Islamabad expressway, connecting the DHA and Bahria housing developments. It would integrate the expanding south eastern portion of Rawalpindi into the city, through public transportation, taking them directly to the offices high tech startups and research universities in the new central park. this would make Rawalpindi a more attract investment destination for FDI into Pakistan's IT industry and general R&D sector. Equally this new bus line would make it easier, quicker and more affordable for workers to go to their jobs in DHA and Bahria town.
This could lead to other cities around the nation turning disused and under utilized public lands into major parks. Old railway depots in major cities like Lahore can be relocated to outside the city, and the land made into a major public park, with many trees and attractions to enrich the lives of the people. This would also let the railways sell the land to a holding company for the park, and use the money to build modern facilities outside the city.
