ISLAMABAD Aug 8: The Pakistan Railways has been unable to launch at least four high-priority development projects in Karachi due to the unresolved disputes with the government of Sindh, this was stated by Secretary Railways Lt-Gen (retd) Saeeduz Zafar on Thursday.

Gen Zafar, speaking to newsmen at the committee room of National Assembly after the PAC meeting, alleged that all the four provinces had failed to act on a federal government’s directive to provide alternate land to the illegal occupants of railway land, and instead, had forged an alliance against the said order.

As a result, he said, the Railways failed to launch a clean up operation against the encroachers/illegal occupants of its vast lands required for commercial use.

The secretary railways disclosed that work on a study to turn the Railways into a corporation had been undertaken with the financial support of the UNDP.

Under the project, to be completed by December next, he said the accounts of railways will be audited by an international firm, its assets evaluated by another firm, and in the third phase turning the railways into a corporation suggested by a third international firm.

He said that the government took the decision of evacuating the illegal occupants from railways’ 6,000 acres in December 2000.

Secretary railways said that the authorities were continuing ejection of illegal occupants of railway colonies and encroachers who had built big establishments on its lands. The railway police, he disclosed, was being given more powers, including powers of arrest, to put a firm hand on land grabbers.

Replying to a question he said, we have decided to restore Chakwal Mandra railway track which was dismantled by the PML leader Lt-Gen (retd) Majeed Malik during his stint in power and have evacuated the illegal occupants of railway land.

He tried to justify the decision to shift dry port to Margalla from Chaklala by saying that there was acute shortage of space at the present site.

He said a total of 250-kms railway track will be replaced in the current fiscal year.

He said that the president will be inaugurating a special train of 13 bogies at Rawalpindi on August 13 which will run between Lahore/Karachi on alternate days until more bogies arrive from China.