Nato containers cause Rs 122 billion loss to exchequer: Senate body told

Senate Standing Committee on Communication was informed on Tuesday that the Nato containers had caused Rs 122 billion loss to national exchequer and also destroyed highways of the country. The committee, which met here with Wali Badeni in the Chair, was informed by the officials of National Highways Authority (NHA) that 7,528 containers, trucks and other vehicles were being used by Nato for supplying goods to Afghanistan.
Besides damaging Pakistani highways, these containers were also not paying full taxes, the NHA officials said. The committee was told that six highways were being used by the Nato containers for goods' supply, which had caused damages worth over Rs 122 billion to the road infrastructure. The committee was further informed that the National Logistic Cell (NLC) was providing maximum vehicles to Nato.
According to sources, Federal Communication Minister Arbab Alamgir, told the committee that Nato containers and trucks were usually found overloaded and when some officials tried to check them, the allegations of theft were levelled against them.
He further informed the meeting that the Lahore-Islamabad motorway has outlived its life and larger cracks had appeared on 48 percent of the road. "We need five billion rupees immediately for its repair. If this amount is not provided then cracks would spread over the whole motorway, which would ultimately increase the cost to Rs 8 billion," he warned.
Alamgir informed the meeting that the Prime Minister had assured them to provide Rs 5 billion during the next financial year. Meanwhile, the committee has issued directives for taking up the matter of loss caused by Nato vehicles. It has also issued orders for immediate release of funds for the repair of motorway and timely completion of the NHA projects. The meeting was attended by senator Zahid Khan, Sardar Ali Khan, Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, Salah ud Din Dogar, Ismail Baledi and others.