NHA GM Suspended Over Substandard N-65 Work in Shikarpur

SHIKARPUR: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Communications has ordered the suspension of National Highway Authority General Manager Sultan Abro and launched an inquiry into what it described as substandard construction and repair work on the Shikarpur–Sukkur stretch of the N-65 National Highway.

The committee acted after Pakistan Peoples Party MNA Shahryar Khan Mahar raised the matter during its meeting, pointing to alleged irregularities in repair work carried out at an estimated cost of Rs 550 million. Members ordered a comprehensive inquiry into how the money was spent and directed that the findings be placed before the committee at its next sitting.

Alongside the inquiry, the committee ordered the reconstruction and re-repair of the affected sections, saying the work must meet quality standards and safeguard commuters using the route. The N-65 is a federal artery linking Sukkur with Quetta through Shikarpur, Jacobabad and Sibi, and carries a heavy volume of freight and passenger traffic between Sindh and Balochistan. Deterioration on any part of the corridor has an immediate bearing on road safety, travel times and transport costs for the districts it serves.

Mahar questioned the NHA’s overall performance during the proceedings, saying the authority was facing a serious decline under the current federal minister. He said raising questions about national institutions and demanding accountability was every responsible citizen’s right.

The NHA operates under the Ministry of Communications, and parliamentary standing committees exercise oversight of the ministries assigned to them, including the power to summon officials and call for inquiries. Their directions carry political weight, though acting on a suspension order and completing a departmental inquiry rest with the ministry and the authority itself. The committee’s next meeting is expected to take up the inquiry report, which should establish whether the money was spent as documented and who signed off on the work now being questioned.