HYDERABAD: A constitutional division bench of Sindh High Court comprising Justice Arbab Ali Hakro and Justice Riazat Ali Sahar on Thursday restrained the National Highway Authority from collecting / recovering toll tax at its Qazi Ahmed (N5) toll plaza till April 17.

The order was passed on a public interest petition filed by a journalist, Yahya Bakhtiar Bhatti, through Barrister Zamir Ghumro.

The petitioner informed court that the NHA had recently established a toll plaza at Qazi Ahmed -- approximately 14kms from the one at Amri Bridge and 30kms from another one at Moro -- putting undue financial burden on local residents who were travelling short distance for their daily needs.

He pointed out that the establishment the new toll plaza was in violation of NHA’s policy, which stipulated that distance between toll plazas on national highway should be between 35 and 60 kilometres, unless specific exceptions were applied. He stated that setting up of the new toll plaza had sparked widespread public protests, which ended only after intervention of the district administration and assurances given by the NHA that locals would be exempted from paying toll tax at this plaza.

The petitioner informed court that after some time, the NHA established a toll plaza on N-5 at Matiari which met with similar public outrage. The Qazi Ahmed Press Club had written to the NHA Sindh South management on Feb 2, 2025 calling for addressing people’s grievances. In response to the letter, the respondent NHA had recommended that category-A vehicles, including cars and jeeps, should be exempted from paying toll tax at both points consistent with the exemption granted to local residents at Jamshoro toll plaza, thus ensuring equal treatment, he said. He stated that NHA’s GM (Revenue) invited bids for operation, management, maintenance and tax collection at toll plazas, including the one at Qazi Ahmed, vide an advertisement dated Feb 11 and this did not include category-A, contrary to NHA’s assurance. He said once toll plaza was handed over to a third-party operator, locals would be made to pay the toll tax.

He submitted in court that the NHA chairman had failed to provide adequate facilities and privileges to commuters in violation of the principle of quid pro quo and imposition of toll tax on local residents on N-5 was unlawful.

He prayed the court to declare establishment of Qazi Ahmed and Matiari toll plazas without providing adequate facilities and privileges to commuters ‘illegal’.

The court directed respondents to file comments on or before the next date of hearing with an advance copy to be provided to petitioner’s counsel. “Until next date of hearing, collection / recovery of toll tax at subject toll plaza [Qazi Ahmed N-5] shall remain suspended for local residents whose vehicles fall within category-I. This exemption is subject to presentation of original National Identity Card by concerned individuals,” the order read.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025