ML-1 be completed in less than stipulated 3 years, remarks CJP
\nour correspondent
\nISLAMABAD
\nThe Supreme Court on Thursday gave the government four more weeks to overhaul loss-making Pakistan Railways in order to turn it into a profit-making national entity.
\nA bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed issued these directions while hearing a suo motu case pertaining to financial losses the Railways department has been inflicting on the national kitty.
\nThe court gave the four-week extension for the restructuring of Railways on the request of the Planning Commission. The court also issued directives to the Sindh government and the Railways Ministry to submit a report regarding Karachi\u2019s circular railway project.
\nChief Justice Gulzar Ahmed expressed reservations regarding the timeline for the completion of the much-touted ML-1 project after he was informed that the multibillion dollar project, being built under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), will be completed within three years.
\n\u201cThree years is a lot. China lays down railway lines in months. If funds are available, so much time should not be spent completing the project,\u201d Justice Gulzar remarked after the secretary Railways told him the project will take three years to complete. He also said that laying down an 1,800 kilometre railway track was not a problem for China.
\nThe CJP warned officials that the Karachi to Hyderabad railway bridge could collapse at any moment. He compared the bridge with a railway bridge in Kotri built by the British before the independence, noting that the latter was in \u201cgood condition\u201d even today.
\n\u201cThere is not a single bridge over the Indus that the nation can be proud of,\u201d Justice Gulzar regretted. He added that the Ayub Bridge built during former president Ayub Khan\u2019s era was the only bridge that could be considered \u201cbeautiful\u201d.
\n\u201cGood bridges should be built for ML-1,\u201d the judge urged the railway officials present at the hearing. He also directed them to \u201crespect\u201d the Indus as well during the construction because it \u201cruns the country\u2019s economy\u201d.
\nThe secretary assured the CJP that state-of-the-art bridges will be built under the ML-1 project. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ML-1 be completed in less than stipulated 3 years, remarks CJP our correspondent ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the government four more weeks to overhaul loss-making Pakistan Railways in order to turn it into a profit-making national entity. A bench headed by Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed issued these directions while hearing a suo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-top-news"],"yoast_head":"\n