Terror-hit hotel in Pak has tips for Taj, Oberoi

“What we are doing first of all is to lock our gates to vehicles permanently except for those bringing state dignitaries,” says Zulfiqar Malik, General Manager of the Islamabad Marriott, which was hit by a truck bomb with 600 kg of explosives on September 20, killing over 50 people and wounding some 250.

Guests, he told The Sunday Express over the phone, will be dropped off on a lane away from the building and will first enter a blast-proof room with 12 ft wide and 13 ft high concrete reinforced walls where they and their baggage will be scanned before being allowed into the lobby. Check-points will be set up at a distance and hydraulically operated road barriers, that can stop a vehicle weighing up to 6,800 kg and coming at a speed of 80 kmph, are being installed.

Besides, there will be under-vehicle inspection systems, more CCTV cameras and cameras even in lanes around the hotel to monitor suspicious activities. “It is very well to make investments and get these things but the most important thing is to make sure that the men behind the machines are well trained and prepared,” he said. “After going through such a painful experience, we have no room for complacency, we have to be on our toes.”

Even before the September 20 attack, blamed on Taliban/al-Qaeda elements, the Islamabad Marriott and its Karachi counterpart were considered among the best-guarded hotels in the world as they have been targetted in the past.

In fact, many of the security measures worked perfectly at the Islamabad Marriott, helping stop the truck-bomb at the gate and preventing the structure from possible collapse if there had been direct impact.

Ather Bhutto, Malik’s counterpart at the Karachi Marriott, which is next door to the U.S. Consulate in what has been a violent city for long, says a hotel cannot anticipate strategies of terrorists. “We were preparing for suicide bombers to come walking in and they came with a truck in Islamabad. Now in Mumbai they have come from the sea and shot their way in,” he said.

Also, the two hotels don’t rely on government agencies for any security measures inside their boundaries, and have their employees verified from police stations or town authorities and even labourers cannot enter without security clearance.

While Tata Group chief Ratan Tata has said that it was ironic that extra security measures taken at the group hotel Taj Mahal in Mumbai after being warned of a possible terror strike were eased just before 26/11, Bhutto and Malik said it is for Indian hotels to take a call on the extent of security they need based on the threat perception. “But whatever it is, you will not be able to just walk into a five-star hotel in the region anymore. You might even be watched on CCTV as you take a bite in a restaurant¿it is unfortunate but you have to compromise a little,” said Malik.

The good news though, Malik says, is that the devastated Islamabad Marriott is on its way to reopening on December 31 as promised. “We regrouped and decided to turn our pain and grief into strength to rebuild,” Malik said. “We all have to send a message to the terrorists that they will never be able to destroy us. That we will rebuild and go on with our lives.”