KARACHI: Work on fencing Pakistan’s border with Iran is underway and will be completed within a year from the present, the Pakistani interior minister said on Monday.
The 959-kilometer-long Pakistan-Iran border begins at the Koh-i-Malik Salih Mountain and ends at Gwadar Bay in the Gulf of Oman. It includes a diverse landscape of mountain ridges, seasonal streams and rivers, and is notorious for human trafficking and smuggling as well as cross-border militancy.
In February last year, then Pakistan army spokesperson General Asif Ghafoor said Pakistan and Iran were considering fencing the common border so that “no third party could sabotage relations” between the two countries. Both nations have repeatedly accused each other of allowing militants to cross their shared frontier and carry out attacks. Both deny state complicity.
In May this year, Moazzam Jah Ansari, commandant of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary in Balochistan, a province that borders Iran, told the Pakistani Senate that Iran was resisting the fencing.
“Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan is 90 percent fenced and the rest we will be completed within one month,” Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told reporters. “The border with Iran is 46 percent fenced and it will be completed within a year’s time,” he said, adding that his ministry was “fully focused” on border management.
Speaking about the fate of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a religious political party that was banned by the government in April this year for holding violent protests, Ahmed said the final decision on the ban would be taken next month.
“The last and important [thing to share] is that a summary of the decision regarding the TLP has been sent, and tomorrow, a meeting of the cabinet will decide what should be the fate of TLP,” Ahmed said.
As per the law, cabinet has to give its approval to enforce a government ban on any political party before the election commission dissolves it and it is proscribed from contesting elections.
Pakistan says Iran border 46 percent fenced, to be completed in a year
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Pakistan says Iran border 46 percent fenced, to be completed in a year
- Both nations accuse each other of allowing militants to cross shared border and carry out attacks, both deny state complicity
- Pakistani interior minister says final decision on banning Tehreek-e-Labbaik religious political party to be taken next month
Pakistan Railways targets $3.6 billion revenue amid track expansion, service upgrades
- Government plans new railway lines and modern trains with security cameras, Wi-Fi and dining cars
- Revival of a robust railway system is seen as key as Pakistan pushes to become a regional trade hub
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways has set a target of generating Rs 1 trillion ($3.6 billion) in revenue by June as the government expands railway tracks and upgrades passenger services with amenities such as Wi-Fi and modern dining cars, Federal Minister for Railways Hanif Abbasi said on Tuesday.
Pakistan Railways was once the backbone of long-distance travel and freight movement across the country, connecting major cities and ports soon after independence. However, decades of underinvestment, aging infrastructure and competition from road transport led to a steady decline in services and reliability.
As Pakistan seeks to position itself as a regional trade and transit hub, the government has renewed focus on rebuilding a robust rail network for both passengers and cargo.
“Pakistan Railways has set a target of achieving Rs 1 trillion in revenue by June 2026,” Abbasi said, according to an official statement. “Pakistan Railways will be transformed into a modern, safe and profitable organization,” he added.
The minister said work has already begun on digitization, outsourcing, construction of new railway tracks and improvement of passenger facilities.
He said the Asian Development Bank has approved a $2 billion loan for the construction of a 480-kilometer new railway track between Karachi and Rohri, a project expected to cut travel time by at least five hours.
Groundbreaking for the project is planned for July 2026, with completion expected within two and a half to three years.
Under the Reko Diq project, Abbasi said work is underway on a 900-kilometer railway track from Rohri to Nokundi, including construction of 500 kilometers of new track and upgrading of 400 kilometers of existing track.
The 87-kilometer Nokundi–Taftan line has also been included to strengthen rail connectivity with Iran.
The minister said a 54-kilometer People’s Train route is being launched in Balochistan at a cost of Rs 4 billion ($14.4 million), while eight regional routes will be developed in Punjab.
Provinces have also been offered the option to operate branch lines, with Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan allocating funds and consultations underway with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Abbasi said Pakistan is also advancing rail connectivity with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Iran and that the Islamabad–Tehran–Istanbul railway service will be launched after security clearance.
Passenger services are being upgraded alongside infrastructure expansion, he continued.
“Cleanliness and improvement work at Rawalpindi Railway Station has been completed, while three prime trains have already been upgraded, and more trains will be upgraded by June 30,” the minister said. “By December 31, all major trains will be upgraded, featuring security cameras, Wi-Fi, hostesses and modern dining cars.”
He added that Wi-Fi routers have been installed at railway stations, ticket booking has been enabled through the Rabta mobile application and a 1,700-kilometer fiber-optic network is being laid.
Karachi and Lahore railway stations are being upgraded for security, while progress is underway on a Rs 8.9 billion ($32 million) digital systems agreement with the Frontier Works Organization and a $85 million project with DP World at Pipri Yard.
Abbasi said 155 railway stations have been shifted to solar energy and Pakistan Railways recently recorded its highest-ever daily revenue of Rs 300 million ($1.1 million).
The minister also said a new Lahore–Rawalpindi track, backed by provincial funding, will cut travel time between the two cities to about two and a half hours once completed.
