Islamabad, Dec 07: Ahead of next month's Saarc Summit to be attended by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee among others here, Pakistan is silently demolishing its giant missile statues erected after the country's nuclear tests in 1998. Pakistan government has ordered the demolition of the massive replica of the Ghouri missile, erected at the picturesque F-10 intersection in Islamabad five years ago.
The demolition of the statue was part of change of capital city's beautification plan, Pakistan's Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat told reporters here.

But officials of Capital Development Authority (CDA) were more forthright in their comments to the media.

The missile statue was not giving any "impressive impression" of Pakistan, therefore it would be replaced by a peace statue, they said.
Considering the emotions it could evoke, officials brought down the statue with heavy cranes late last night.

CDA officials said missile models in other parts too would be removed and replaced with more aesthetic statues.

Bureau Report