ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi on Monday informed the National Assembly that the plan for a railway link between Pakistan and Afghanistan had been proposed which would run through Mazar-e-Sharif to Kabul to Peshawar.
“According to the revised road-map, the project activities shall start from July, 2022 keeping in view the security situation in Afghanistan,” the minister said while speaking on behalf of the Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique during the Question-Hour.
Sharing details of the proposed rail link, he said the initial road-map for implementation of the project activities was signed by Pakistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in March, 2021.
However, the project activities could not materialize due to the security situation in Afghanistan, he added.
The minister said the three countries had again decided to resume the project activities in a meeting held in Tashkent in December, 2021. “Uzbekistan again shared a revised draft roadmap in March, 2022, with the Ministry of Railways for implementation of the project activities,” he added.
In continuation of the process, he said, the Railways ministry had convened an Inter-Ministerial meeting of relevant ministries including Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Finance Division, Economic Affairs Division, Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Commerce & Communication for finalizing the agreement on roadmap.
Abbasi said the draft road map would be shared with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan for signatures after vetting by all ministries. At the end, he reiterated that the project activities shall start from July, 2022 according to the revised road-map.