Secretary of S&T Ministry summoned: NA irked by absence of minister, failure to respond to questions

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq on Friday summoned the secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology after the relevant minister and parliamentary secretary failed to appear in the House to respond to questions related to the ministry.

The action was taken during the question hour after MNA Asia Naz Tanoli raised a question concerning the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Taking notice of the absence of the minister and the failure to brief another minister about the scheduled business, the speaker directed the ministry’s joint secretary, who was present in the House, to call the secretary of the ministry.

The speaker said the secretary would be required to appear before the House by the evening.

He also told Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry that answers to questions concerning various ministries had not been provided the previous day as well, for which a ministry secretary had also been summoned.

“Answering questions in the House is the collective responsibility of the Cabinet,” the speaker observed.

Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said ministers were individually informed about the business assigned to them in the House, yet some ministers continued to display an irresponsible attitude.

He said the matter would be brought to the attention of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, with a request that disciplinary action should be taken against ministers who failed to discharge their parliamentary responsibilities.

He said members were normally informed about the House’s business five minutes before the commencement of a session, but the relevant ministry had not informed them about Friday’s business.

The speaker directed the minister to submit a written explanation regarding the matter.

Later, Federal Parliamen-tary Secretary for Communications Gul Asghar Khan told the House that the Karachi-Hyderabad motorway project was among the government’s top priorities and was expected to be completed by 2028.

Responding to questions, he said the project required an investment of more than USD 400 million and had faced delays for nearly three decades due to a lack of financing.

He said the government had reviewed the reasons behind the prolonged delay and divided the project into five sections of approximately 50 kilometres each to facilitate investment and attract private financing.

“All five sections were offered internationally to attract investment. Three sections have secured financing through different arrangements, including support from the Islamic Development Bank, while the procurement process for some sections is nearing completion,” he said.

Gul Asghar said the Frontier Works Organization (FWO) had also expressed interest in two sections of the project. He expressed confidence that work on all five sections would be completed by 2028.

The parliamentary secretary said the existing M-9 motorway would continue to serve as an expressway, while the government was developing a new M-10 motorway to establish a direct link between Karachi and Hyderabad.

He said the feasibility study for the M-10 had been completed and the government was working on a route that would bypass the existing alignment and provide a direct motorway connection between the two cities.

Responding to another question, Gul Asghar said the National Highway Authority’s (NHA) toll revenue had increased from Rs64.430 billion in FY2024-25 to Rs85.550 billion in FY2025-26.

He said the NHA had introduced several measures to ensure transparency in toll collection.

Answering a supplementary question, he clarified that the Sialkot (Sambrial)-Kharian Motorway had not been scheduled for completion in 2023. The project was initially planned for completion within two years, by 2024.

He attributed the delay to realignment following a hydraulic model study of the proposed motorway bridge over the Chenab River, hyperinflation, and the decision to expand the motorway from four to six lanes.

These factors led to renegotiation of the public-private partnership agreement, delaying execution of the project, he said. Construction was subsequently halted and allocated funds were withheld.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026