January 09, 2008	Wednesday	Zilhaj 29, 1428

KARACHI, Jan 8: Federal (caretaker) Minister for Communication Barrister Habibur Rehman has said that the inquiry report pertaining to the collapse of the Shershah bridge, a part of the Northern Bypass, is ready and will be made public within 10 days.

Talking to journalists at the National Highway Authority (NHA) office here on Tuesday, he said that interrogation with all those concerned had been completed and the report was now ready. He, however, declined to share contents of the report with the journalists.

The bridge had collapsed in mid-2007 just one month after its inauguration by President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Rehman, addressing a press conference, also expressed his views on the losses caused to public and private properties during the spate of violence that followed the Dec 27 assassination of former prime minister Ms Benazir Bhutto. He said that the next elected government would face a huge economic challenge due to the colossal damage incurred on account of the rioting.

“The fruits of the eight-year economic development have been damaged,” he remarked. The burden will ultimately trickle down to the taxpayers,” he added.—PPI