THE Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway seems to be paved with broken promises and not much else. No matter how many times the authorities promise it is near completion, it stays right where it has been, that is, going nowhere. Recently, there has been another announcement that construction on the long-delayed M6 project will begin in April 2026. It sounds vaguely promising, but is not something that has never been heard before. For context, the project was conceived nearly a decade ago, with construction originally expected to begin in 2017. It did not. The project was formally inaugurated in December 2022, with assurances that the M6 would be completed within 30 months. It was not. It is no wonder that stakeholders are frustrated. Traders, lawmakers and weary travellers alike have called out the government for failing to prioritise the M6, with many rightly pointing to its importance for national connectivity, trade and public safety. Their pleas continue to fall on deaf ears.

Once billed as the final link in the Peshawar-Karachi corridor, the M6 has become emblematic of Pakistan’s inability to rationalise and prioritise development spending amidst difficult financial conditions. The project is certainly not a luxury. Delays have imposed real costs: longer travel times, higher freight charges and frequent accidents on the congested N5. They have also denied Sindh’s heartlands improved connectivity with the rest of the nation. It may be recalled that in April this year, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Communications had directed the National Highway Authority to treat the M6 as a top priority and to halt all other roadworks until it was finally underway. But no structured plan was disclosed, and from what the NHA chairman told a National Assembly panel on Thursday, a lot still remains up in the air. If the government is truly serious this time, it should at least publish a project schedule and clarify funding sources. It cannot build a motorway with words alone.

Published in Dawn, Aug 2nd, 2025