Senate panel reviews road safety, infrastructure concerns

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Less Developed Areas on Wednesday reviewed road safety and infrastructure concerns.

The committee meeting chaired by Senator Danesh Kumar was held here at the Parliament House. Senator Falak Naz expressed concern about the Lowari Tunnel and N-45 in Chitral, which have been causing accidents. She requested an update on their repairs from the NHA chairman and inquired about funding for road repairs in Chitral. The NHA chairman explained that the matter was hindered by litigation. The status quo has not been resolved in their favour and legal options are being considered.

Danesh questioned why the Supreme Court of Pakistan had not been consulted if a high court had issued a notification on this issue. He pointed out that this matter had been under litigation since 2020, which raised concerns. The NHA chairman said the Kalash Valley needed to meet NHA standards and in some towns, land acquisition by authorities was necessary. Danesh said the solution to this issue lay in addressing the matter locally and consulting provincial authorities.

Senator Aimal Khan proposed that there should be a separate interchange for Islamabad and the airport. He pointed out that more than half of KP’s population traveled through Islamabad and emphasized the need for a separate interchange to reduce regular hassles faced by people from KP. The committee unanimously decided to consult engineers on this matter and discuss possible solutions.

The committee also discussed the Indus Highway/N-55 and the NHA chairman reported that the delay in rehabilitation of N-55 was currently under investigation. “Work on Tranche 1 and Tranche 2 is ongoing, while bidding for Tranche 3 has already started. Tranche 2 is already 90% complete,” he reported. Danesh recommended conducting a survey for the Petaro 7 road and presenting the findings at the next meeting. The committee expressed reservations about the absence of the secretary of the Ministry of Information Technology.

The meeting was attended by Senators Falak Naz, Hamid Khan, Aimal Wali Khan, the joint secretary of the Ministry of Communications, the NHA chairman and senior officials from relevant departments.