SHC summons NHA chief over Karachi-Hyderabad motorway's dilapidated condition

The Sindh High Court heard a petition regarding the poor condition of the M-9 motorway and national highways, summoning the relevant authorities to explain the situation.

A two-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Muhammad Saleem Jessar issued notices to the chairman of the National Highway Authority (NHA), the inspector general of the National Highway and Motorway Police (NH&MP), and other concerned to appear before the court on March 6.

The petition was filed by Safia Lakho, who named several federal and provincial departments as respondents. In her plea, she argued that the deteriorating state of the M-9 had become a serious threat to commuters, claiming that several recent fatalities were the result of crumbling road conditions and poor traffic management.

She told the court that despite toll plazas in Sindh generating significant revenue for the NHA, the condition of the highways remained unsatisfactory. According to the petitioner, maintenance work was either inadequate or neglected, and the authorities responsible for overseeing the motorways and traffic control had failed to perform their duties effectively.

Lakho further submitted that more than two dozen people had lost their lives in road accidents over the past few weeks alone, attributing the deaths to unsafe road conditions.

After an initial hearing, the bench directed the chairman of the NHA, the IG of NH&MP, the NHA’s general manager for the Sindh region, and the deputy inspector general of Sindh traffic police to appear in person at the next hearing.