Islamabad, January 19, 2026 – The meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Communications was held today at the Parliament House under the convenorship of Senator Kamil Ali Agha. The meeting was attended by Senators Zamir Hussain Ghumro and Saifullah Abro.
While briefing the Sub-Committee on Tranche-III (Rajanpur–D.G. Khan–D.I. Khan) of the CAREC project, including its proposal, the complete tendering process and bidding documents, the CEO, National Highway Authority (NHA) informed that the Prime Minister’s Office had deputed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct an inquiry into the matter. He admitted that the misconduct had been committed by the officers of NHA and assured that disciplinary action would be initiated immediately against the responsible officers. He stated that the inquiry committee had endorsed most of the recommendations of the Sub-Committee. He further informed that four project packages had been awarded to a single company, whereas the appropriate course was to award each package to different companies. He added that NHA would seek clarification from the Prime Minister’s Office to move the project to the next stage. Due to these delays, the procurement process is likely to be delayed by more than one year which ultimately results heavy cost over the project.
The Convener Sub-Committee observed that scrapping the project would ultimately benefit the culprits. He stated that the issue was initially raised by the Parliament and was later highlighted by the media, adding that such circumstances had brought the project to the brink of being scrapped. He emphasized the need to formulate effective policies in the future to address such challenges in a timely and prudent manner. The Convener also expressed serious concern over the delayed provision of required data by the relevant ministries and departments.
Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro stated that the Sub-Committee was never in favor of scrapping the project and suggested that the project should be completed in phases.
During the meeting of the Sub-Committee, Senator Saifullah Abro, while referring to the remarks of the CEO, NHA regarding the crime committed by NHA officers, strongly recommended the termination of the culprits from service in order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future. He further stated that the department had not cooperated with the Sub-Committee. He recommended that such “black sheep” should not be posted to key positions, that the officers involved should be terminated, and that beneficiaries should be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law. He also recommended that the loan should remain intact until December 2027, that variation orders should be avoided, and that NHA must submit monthly progress reports to the Committee. The Sub-Committee recommended that, as per the commitment made by the CEO, NHA, work on the project would be initiated within 15 days, and progress updates would be submitted to the main Committee from time to time.
