Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister’s Adviser on Finance Muzammil Aslam has questioned Punjab’s reported claim of building or upgrading 45,000 kilometres of roads in the province.
In a statement on October 3, Aslam compared the figure with Pakistan’s national highway network, which he said is around 14,480 kilometres. He questioned how Punjab could complete roadwork covering more than three times the length of the country’s national highway network in about two and a half years.
The comparison, however, involves different road networks. National highways are managed at the federal level, while provinces also maintain their own roads. Punjab Information Minister Azma Bukhari responded that provincial roads are separate from the National Highway Authority network. She further claimed that Punjab’s overall road network is around 80,000 kilometres.
Government officials in Punjab have previously said that work on around 45,000 kilometres of roads includes new construction, rehabilitation and widening.
The exchange has raised questions about what is included in the 45,000 kilometre figure and whether it refers to newly built roads or roads repaired and upgraded.
