ISLAMABAD: Minister for Aviation Ghulam Sarwar Khan on Monday clarified that there was no political involvement in finalising the alignment of Rawalpindi-Islamabad Ring Road project.

If there is any change in the road alignment, it is purely due to technical reasons that can be explained by relevant experts, he said while addressing a news conference.

The minister pointed out that the inquiry report about the project should be revisited as some members of the investigation committee had attached their separate dissenting notes with it.

Although there was no mention of his or any of his family members’ name in the inquiry report, some elements were attempting to involve him in the scandal, he said, adding documentary evidence must be brought forward to prove his involvement otherwise he will take legal action.

An alignment of the Ring Road from Rawat to Thalian Interchange connecting it with the motorway, was discussed in 2017, but it was not approved, he said, adding there were some reservations of the National Highway Authority (NHA) that it would not be able to control the traffic on Ring Road, which was estimated at 33,000 vehicles per day at that time.

Moreover, the existing motorways and N5 (Grand Trunk Road) had no capacity of bearing such an axle-load of heavy vehicles.

He said the government took the initiative and he, himself, got a fresh briefing on the project and the management decided to provide another entry point to Islamabad at Sangjani area, keeping in view all technicalities.

It was aimed at lowering the burden on Srinagar Highway that was the only available road for all the traffic coming from motorway and N5 towards Islamabad, he said, adding him and his family members had neither acquired nor sold any piece of land on both sides of the proposed route of the Ring Road.

The minister also clarified that he or any of his family members had no association with any housing society and they did politics for the last 50 years, considering it a public service never taking any financial gains.

Answering a question, Mr Sarwar said it was a project of national importance like Tarbela and Mangla dams, and must be executed and completed at every cost, no matter what alignment was taken as final.

All major cities had bypasses or ring roads, but unfortunately the twin cities project faced inordinate delay for reasons unknown, depriving residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad of the facility.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2021