The meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Communications held with Senator Pervaiz Rashid in chair criticized the National Highway Authority (NHA) over poor road conditions and mismanagement in Balochistan. The Senate Body on Communications in its session focused on a notice by Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri, addressing alarming statistics from the Balochistan Medical Emergency Response Center (BMERC). BMERC reports indicate over 46,000 accidents on Balochistan highways in the past five years, attributed to inadequate road conditions and heavy traffic. Senator Mumtaz highlighted the poor state of key roads including Uthal (N-25), Kalat (N-25), Gwadar (N-10), and Killa Saifullah (N-50), covering a total of 620 kilometers. She emphasized that despite government allocations, the crucial N-25 remains undeveloped. Both the NHA and the Ministry of Communications failed to provide satisfactory answers regarding the utilization of funds since a decade. Senators criticized the NHA for poor road maintenance and questioned the establishment of toll plazas that do not benefit local communities. The committee also discussed the role of over-speeding, overloading, and inadequate driver ethics in accidents.

The motorway police reported 422 accidents in the West Zone since 2019, resulting in 304 deaths and 952 injuries. However, members expressed skepticism about these factors being the sole causes and criticized the NHA for neglecting proper maintenance and project execution. The committee sought to review in detail the performance of the Ministry of Communications and the NHA. Tallah Badar lamented the ineffective measures taken to address road damage, despite an annual expenditure exceeding 15 billion rupees. The NHA’s Chairman pointed out funding constraints impacting project development and maintenance, stating that only 2.4 billion rupees are allocated for repairing 14,483 kilometers of road. The Chairman Committee emphasized the urgent need for effective solutions to the road safety crisis. A Senate subcommittee will be formed to work with NHA and Ministry officials to develop actionable plans and assess performance, aiming to address the serious road safety issues in Balochistan and beyond. The meeting was attended by Senator Dost Ali Jeesar, Senator Jam Saifuallah Khan, Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro, Senator Muhammad Tallal Badar, Senator Abdul Wasay, Senator Muhammad Qasim and Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri. Officials from relevant departments were also in attendance.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan