• PM wants N-25 to become the ‘Standard of Highway’ road
• CM BUGTI attends the federal cabinet meeting on special dispensation
Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced Tuesday that, instead of transmitting the relief of reduced oil prices in the international market to consumers, the government would use the money saved for the reconstruction of the N-25 road and the completion of phase II of the Kachhi channel project in Baluchistan.
The prime minister made the announcement while presiding over the federal cabinet meeting here, where he declared the transformation of the N-25, infamously known as the “deadly road”, on a standard highway road.
He said the decision reflected the national commitment to the development of Baluchistan and the end of years of negligence.
“From a political and social perspective, it is time for us to address the disparity. While the highways go through several parts of the country, Baluchistan has waited too much. Now we will change the fate of the N-25, to be a tragedy road to a prosperity road,” said Prime Minister.
He stressed that the N-25, which connects Karachi with Chaman through Quetta, Kalat and Khuzdar, has charged more than 2,000 lives in recent years due to its poor condition and structure of a single lane.
Prime Minister Shehbaz announced that the RS300 billion reconstruction project would now advance under the supervision of the federal government, with a validation of third parties to guarantee high construction standards.
“We will build this as a first class path, and I, together with Baluchistan Prime Minister, Mir Sarfraz Bugti, I will personally supervise the project progress,” said Prime Minister.
The construction of the road was first approved in fiscal year 2022-23, but the progress stagnated due to the financing gaps. The Renaissance of the project is now being supported by the reallocation of resources that are made possible by world oil prices. Instead of transmitting complete relief to consumers, the government chose to invest in strategic infrastructure, said Prime Minister.
He also told the cabinet members that Phase II of the Kachhi channel, an RS70 billion irrigation project, will also be completed using the same group of funds.
“If completed, this project will water a vast area of the arid land of Baluchistan. It can transform agriculture, improve livelihoods and address food security. The only condition is hard work,” he said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasized the judicious allocation of resources taking into account the needs of all federal units.
He highlighted the solarization of RS70 billion of the Tube well project in Baluchistan, a joint initiative of federal and provincial governments, as a brilliant example of this collaboration, with the federal government with 70 percent of the cost.
He said that the Hyderab-Sukkur M-6 highway and the M-9 highway from Sukkur to Karachi would also be built under the transparent implementation process of the federal government, extending high quality roads in neglected areas.
During the cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Shehbaz also condemned the tragic murder of eight innocent Pakistani in the province of Sistan-Baluchestan of Iran. He reiterated Pakistan’s expectation that the Iranian authorities would quickly bring perpetrators to justice.
The prime minister also prayed for the total and fast recovery of President Asif Ali Zardari, who is currently under treatment for COVID-19.
The Federal Cabinet also made several key decisions, including the approval of amendments to the 1961 oil collection ordinance to boost national income, the support of the Sukuk sustainable investment framework to issue national values that support environmental and renewable energy projects, Greenlight for a bill to establish national trade and food security authority, promote agricultural reform and food safety.
Baluchistan’s prime minister, Sarfraz Bugti, also attended the federal cabinet meeting as a special guest and praised the decision of the Prime Minister to give priority to long -standing projects in Baluchistan.
“The N-25 was in fact a bloody path, but today it has shown compassion by diverting national resources to address the pain and deprivation of the people of Baluchistan,” Bugti said.
Posted in Dawn, April 16, 2025
