NHA informs Senate body: Road infrastructure in KP, G-B remains fully intact in recent rains

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of recent flash floods, the National Highway Authority (NHA) informed the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs on Monday that its road infrastructure in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) remains fully intact and operational.

The committee, which met here with Senator Saifullah Abro in the chair, was briefed by NHA Chairman Shehryar Sultan, who said that road damage in KP and G-B caused by recent torrential rains and cloudbursts had primarily affected local link roads falling under the jurisdiction of the respective provincial governments.

He said that debris and large stones that had fallen onto NHA-managed roads – including the Karakoram Highway – had been cleared, and the roads were now fully open to two-way traffic.

Only a 0.6 km stretch of NHA highway remains submerged in an artificial lake formed due to heavy rainfall and a cloudburst in Ghizer, Gilgit-Baltistan.

However, he said, that on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the NHA has directed its contractors working in affected areas to support the KP and GB governments in road repair and restoration.

“We asked contractors engaged in rain and flood-hit areas to divert their machinery to assist local authorities with the repair of their road networks,” he added.

The committee also reviewed progress and transparency in key national development initiatives, including the ADB CAREC Tranche-III (Rajanpur-DG Khan-DI Khan) project.

At the outset, the committee chairman expressed displeasure over the National Highway Authority’s (NHA) failure to submit detailed documents for CAREC Tranches II and III. These documents had been requested through a Senate Secretariat letter dated 4 August 2025 and were unanimously recommended during the committee’s previous meeting.

In response, the NHA chief executive officer (CEO) informed the committee that some responses were still awaited from the relevant firms and departments, although certain information had already been shared with the Ministry of Communications. However, the chairman clarified that the committee had not received any of this information to date.

The CEO also revealed that the Prime Minister had formed a high-level inquiry committee and ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.

Disciplinary action has been taken against eight individuals, including five NHA officers – among them Fayyaz Ahmed Khattak, GM (P&CA) – and three others: Asim Amin, Imtiaz Ahmed Khokhar, and Samiur Rehman (who has since retired). Notifications issued by the Ministry of Communications were shared with the committee.

Following detailed deliberations, the committee recommended that the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) formally write to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as previously advised, to highlight serious lapses by the NHA in awarding the CAREC Tranche-III project, and to inform the bank of the suspension of the project’s procurement team members.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025