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ISLAMABAD: Global real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has stepped down from its role as financial adviser for the privatization of Pakistan’s Roosevelt Hotel in New York, citing a conflict of interest due to client interest in the property, the government said on Thursday.

Pakistan plans to sell a minority stake in the century-old Manhattan hotel and is seeking a redevelopment partner as part of a broader effort to offload loss-making state-owned assets under a $7 billion agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Roosevelt Hotel, viewed as one of Pakistan’s most valuable foreign holdings, was closed in 2020 and has since operated intermittently, including as a migrant shelter.

JLL was appointed in January last year to advise the government on the potential sale transaction of the Roosevelt Hotel, the privatization ministry said in a statement.

“The Privatization Commission of Pakistan announces that Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a leading global real estate services firm, acting as Financial Adviser for privatization of Roosevelt Hotel, has formally conveyed its decision to resign from the assignment owing to the emergence of a potential conflict of interest,” the ministry said.

It added that JLL had conducted due diligence on the hotel and submitted due diligence and transaction structure reports, in which it analyzed a range of transaction structure options in line with international best practices and market dynamics.

The ministry said JLL has cited “heightened interest” in Roosevelt Hotel from many of its clients, post cancelation of its lease agreement with New York City, as the reason for the decision to withdraw from its role.

“This, JLL says, has put them in a compromising position, therefore they have decided to resign in order to avoid any perceived or actual conflict of interest,” the ministry explained.

The statement said Pakistan’s Privatization Commission is initiating the process to hire a new financial adviser on a fast-track basis to ensure that the process for Roosevelt Hotel’s privatization is carried forward in a “transparent and competitive manner.”

“The Government of Pakistan and the Privatization Commission remain fully committed to conclude the ongoing privatization of Roosevelt Hotel expeditiously, in accordance with all applicable legal requirements,” the statement concluded.

The Roosevelt Hotel has long been one of Pakistan’s most prominent but politically sensitive overseas assets. Acquired by the Pakistan International Airlines Investment Limited (PIAIL) in 1979, the hotel occupies a full city block on Madison Avenue and 45th Street.

Over the past two decades, successive Pakistani governments have floated plans to sell, lease, or redevelop the property, but no proposal has advanced beyond early-stage planning.

ISLAMABAD: An army major and a sepoy were killed during an intelligence-based operation in Pakistan's southwestern Mastung district, the military's media wing said on Thursday amid Islamabad's battle against surging militancy. 

The latest operation took place in Balochistan's Mastung district on July 23 when security forces received reports of the presence of "terrorists" belonging to "Fitna al Hindustan," a term the Pakistani military uses for militants it says are backed by neighbor and archrival India.

The military said three militants were killed during its counterterror operation. However, Major Zeeyyad Salim Awal, 31, and Sepoy Nazam Hussain, 22, were killed during the exchange of fire, the military's media wing said. 

"Sanitization operation is being conducted to eliminate any other Indian sponsored terrorist found in the area, as the security forces of Pakistan are determined to wipe out the menace of Indian Sponsored Terrorism from the country," the military said. 

"And such sacrifices of our brave men further strengthen our resolve."

Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has long been the site of separatist and insurgent violence, and Islamabad has frequently alleged Indian involvement in destabilizing activities there, a charge New Delhi denies.

India accuses Pakistan of training and funding militant groups in the part of disputed Kashmir that New Delhi administers. Islamabad denies the allegations and says it only extends diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. 

The two countries engaged in the worst fighting between them since 1998 in May this year, pounding each other with drones, fighter jets, missiles and artillery fire before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.