Islamabad: Emergency ambulance services in Islamabad and nearby areas were disrupted after the Edhi Foundation’s long-running control room in Aabpara was closed, with the foundation and the Islamabad administration giving different versions of what happened.
The Edhi Foundation said its control room, which had been working for over 40 years, was shut on March 28 by the district administration without any prior notice or written order. It said the action forced it to temporarily suspend ambulance services in the capital and adjoining areas.
The foundation maintained that it had already paid one year’s rent in advance and still had 11 months remaining, but despite this, officials visited the site and ordered the closure. It said barriers were placed outside the control room, stopping staff from continuing their emergency work.
Due to the closure, the organisation said it could not continue ambulance services in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, warning that this could create serious problems for patients and accident victims who depend on Edhi ambulances in emergencies.
The foundation urged the authorities to immediately provide an alternative place so that services could be restored without delay.
However, the Islamabad administration rejected the claim that the facility was sealed without reason and said the matter was linked to an old agreement.
According to the administration’s spokesperson, the Edhi control room was set up on land owned by the Capital Development Authority and an agreement signed in 1990 had expired in 2000.
The spokesperson said that for the past 26 years, the Edhi administration had been repeatedly asked through notices to vacate the site, and documents related to the agreement and notices had also been shared with the media.
The administration also said that the government had already allocated an alternative space to Edhi in Sector H-8. It claimed that the foundation had requested a two-month extension before Ramzan and had assured that the control room would be shifted after Eid.
Officials maintained that no forceful action had been taken so far and said they came to know about the closure through media reports.
The situation has created uncertainty about the availability of ambulance services in the capital, with both sides calling for a solution so that emergency services can resume for the public without further delay.
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