ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said on Friday he had ordered the reconstruction of the Panjara Bridge in his home province of Balochistan, swept away by flash floods triggered by monsoon rains in July this year.
The PM’s directives came after Baloch singer Gul Meer Jamali released a song that went viral, urging the premier, who hails from Balochistan’s Killa Saifullah district, to “fulfill his responsibility toward Balochistan.”
“Orders have been issued to the concerned institutions for the reconstruction of Panjara Bridge,” Kakar said. “Very soon this long-standing problem of the people of Balochistan will be solved. God willing.”
The bridge was initially destroyed in record floods last year, but was temporarily restored but this year’s monsoons once again ravaged the bridge in the Bolan region of Balochistan, located some 115 kilometers southeast of Quetta.
The bridge is used to pass the Bolan River on the Quetta-Sukkur Highway and is an important link between the impoverished province and the rest of the country.
Earlier this month, Kakar said he would prioritize strengthening the connectivity of Balochistan province with the rest of the country.
“Good infrastructure is key for the development of any country,” an official statement circulated by the PM Office quoted him as saying earlier in August.
“Road infrastructure needs to be built on a priority basis in those parts of the country where foreign investment is expected … Special work is needed on road infrastructure in Balochistan. The government’s job is to make people’s lives easier.”
