Muhammad Faisal Kaleem

Over 3,000 acres of Pakistan Railways (PR) land in Sindh will be repurposed for agricultural use after being retrieved from encroachers, a senior PR official informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Railways.

Briefing the committee, the Divisional Superintendent of PR’s Sukkur Division said that 3,253.233 acres of railway land were currently under illegal occupation, while another 457 acres grabbed by land mafia. “The department is actively pursuing recovery operations and expects the issue to be resolved soon,” he said.

A total of 16,458 acres in the Sukkur region are under PR’s operational control, a significant portion of which has already been reclaimed, the official informed the committee. The official added that he had personally visited Khanpur, Rohri Yard, Rahim Yar Khan, Sukkur, Pannu Aqil, Mehrabpur, and several other areas to supervise anti-encroachment operations.

In response to questions from lawmakers, the official said that Pakistan Railways follows a prescribed set of criteria for leasing its land. The committee members directed the ministry to submit a comprehensive report on land leases across the country at the next meeting. During the proceedings, the committee also discussed the Ministry of Railways’ major upcoming project — the Freight Corridor. Secretary of Railways Syed Mazhar Ali Shah briefed the members that the project would start from Kamari, Sindh, and connect Karachi Port to Pipri.

He explained that two new railway lines would be constructed to link the corridor with the M-9 Motorway, the dual carriageway connecting Karachi to Hyderabad. The project aims to operate 17 freight trains daily and will initially begin on a small scale. The first phase is expected to be completed within six months at an estimated cost of US$400 million. Committee members held detailed deliberations on the project’s scope and progress, acknowledging its importance for improving freight efficiency and reducing congestion at Karachi Port.

The committee also addressed the recent Jaffer Express incident, where the train was struck by an improvised explosive device (IED) near Sultan Kot Railway Station in Sindh. As a result, five bogies derailed and the track sustained damage. Seven passengers, including Pakistan Railways employees, received minor injuries. Police and rescue teams immediately reached the site, and the injured were shifted to the Civil Hospital, Shikarpur.

District administrations and police officials from Sukkur, Larkana, and Shikarpur also assisted in relief efforts. In response to the incident, the committee recommended that Pakistan Railways intensify patrolling in sensitive areas and install at least three signal jammers in every train to safeguard passengers from such attacks in the future.

Credit: INP-WealthPk