ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan has directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to vacate all of its government land from illegal occupation, warning that not even an inch of NHA property should remain in anyone's possession anywhere in the country.
The directive came during a special meeting of the National Highway Authority chaired by the minister, where senior officials, including the federal secretary for communications and the NHA chairman, briefed participants on the pace of ongoing projects across the Punjab region and other zones.
Khan ordered immediate completion of patchwork on the Lahore-Gujranwala GT Road and called the poor condition of the N-5 highway regrettable, directing that restoration work begin at once.
The meeting reviewed progress on the expansion of the Faisalabad-Pindi Bhattian Motorway M-4 and examined the pace of work on several highway projects, including the 40-kilometer Rawalpindi-Hasan Abdal road, the 70-kilometer Rajanpur-Rohri highway and the 31-kilometer Nowshera-Peshawar road. Khan directed that work on the Rawalpindi-Hasan Abdal stretch be accelerated.
Officials briefed the minister that 21% of work on the Sambrial-Kharian Motorway M-12 is complete. Khan said the M-12 would be finished six months ahead of its 2028 target and asked about outstanding issues hindering construction of the Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway.
He directed that NHA departmental matters under public-private partnerships be handled swiftly and instructed officials to ensure well-maintained green areas and beautification along motorways, as well as rest areas at regular intervals on highways.
Khan announced he would visit Faisalabad this week to conduct an on-site review and said he would also inspect the Layyah-Tonsa, Multan-Mianwali and Lodhran-Multan highways.
