Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi has announced the establishment of a commission to connect Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan by railway track.
During question hour in the National Assembly (NA), Murtaza Javed Abbasi commented. For the rail track project, he added, a Pakistan-Afghan commission has been constituted.
“A railway track to Mazar-i-Sharif already exists in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan, and building on another railway track from Mazar-i-Sharif to Torkham will begin shortly.”
Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique claimed in his written answer to the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway link that the project was delayed owing to the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
In December 2021, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan agreed to restart the rail project. Uzbekistan had presented a revised project roadmap, and an inter-ministerial conference had been convened to finalize the agreement.
The proposed roadmap was shared with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan once the scrutiny process was completed. It has been revealed that development work on the rail project would resume in June 2022, by the new plan.
