PM Shehbaz announces Rs300bn Karachi-Chaman highway, blames India for terrorism in Balochistan
Addressing participants of the National Workshop Balochistan in Islamabad, Shehbaz said the dual carriageway upgrade of the Karachi-Chaman highway, officially the N-25, would be completed within the next one-and-a-half to two years. He said the route, long known for frequent accidents, was being funded using savings from reduced oil prices and described it as a future road of peace for the province once finished.
The prime minister said Balochistan's needs had been recognised under the 2010 National Finance Commission Award, through which Punjab alone had contributed Rs150 billion to the province's development, alongside a further Rs50 billion in federal funding toward a Rs75 billion programme that has converted roughly 27,000 agricultural tube wells in Balochistan to solar power.
Shehbaz said Balochistan's quota for laptops and scholarships had been increased by 10 percent, and that nine Daanish Schools were being established across the province to expand educational access.
He said Rs368 billion had been allocated in the federal budget for water storage projects, and called for the Kachhi Canal, which he said should be prioritised for completion, to be renamed the Pakistan Canal given its national significance.
India blamed for renewed terrorism
Shehbaz said terrorism, which he described as having been largely defeated in Pakistan by 2017-18, had resurfaced as part of an organised conspiracy, alleging that India continues to sponsor and fund militant elements operating in the country.
He paid tribute to the roughly 90,000 Pakistanis he said had been martyred in the broader fight against terrorism, and expressed grief over the recent killing of Mastung Sessions Judge Abdul Hakeem.
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He also urged the Afghan Taliban administration to prevent militant groups from using Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan, framing continued cross-border sanctuaries as a central obstacle to lasting peace in Balochistan.
Also addressing the workshop, Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir said sustained operations by security forces and law enforcement agencies, backed by public support, would ultimately restore lasting peace to Balochistan.
He reaffirmed that operations against Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan would continue with full resolve until what he called the menace of terrorism and its facilitators are eliminated from the country.
