ISLAMABAD: In response to widespread public anger over years of stalled and neglected infrastructure projects, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday ordered senior officials of the Ministry of Communications and the Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission to travel to Chitral on Monday (Nov 3) to assess the status of key road projects.
A notification isued by the Prime Minister’s Office stated that the team, comprising Minister for Communications Aleem Khan, the Secretary Communications Division, and the PMIC Chairman, has been tasked to evaluate the status of all major road projects in Upper and Lower Chitral and submit an immediate and comprehensive report to the Prime Minister upon return.
The move followed the prime minister’s visit to Chitral on 31 October, during which he faced repeated questions over the dilapidated condition of roads and the halted projects that were meant to improve connectivity in the valley. Sharif promised that all incomplete road projects would be completed by December next year.
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Much of the public anger has been directed at the National Highway Authority (NHA), which residents accuse of gross negligence and deception.
Siraj Ali Khan, Advocate and senior leader of the Pakistan People’s Party from Upper Chitral, alleged that the NHA dug up the crucial Chitral-Booni road years ago, leaving it nearly impassable, and then abandoned the project without explanation.
“They only roll out the asphalt when a senior official from Islamabad is expected and the moment the entourage leaves, the work stops again,” he said.
Once a two-hour drive, he added, the journey from Chitral to Booni now takes nearly five hours, a result of the NHA’s “criminal apathy.”
He demanded the prime minister to “tighten the noose” around the NHA, accusing the authority of turning Chitral’s lifeline into a trail of dust and broken promises.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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