THE federal government recently approved Rs27.62 billion in sovereign guarantees along with a rollover of Rs6.94 billion in viability gap funding for the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway. This deserves more public scrutiny than is currently the case. Sovereign guarantees are not free money. They are contingent liabilities that sit on the government’s books and become real costs to taxpayers if the underlying project underperforms or a private partner defaults. Viability gap funding exists precisely because a project cannot stand on its own financially, so a rollover of this scale is worth explaining in plain terms rather than announcing it as a routine approval.

All infrastructure projects, including the Sialkot-Kharian Motorway, do have genuine economic value, connecting industrial centres and easing freight movement across Punjab. That value is exactly why the terms attached to public guarantees should be published clearly, including the conditions under which the guarantee could be called and what recourse exists if the project’s traffic or revenue projections fall short.

The federal government should publish a summary in plain language of major guarantee approvals like this one alongside the technical notification, so that citizens may better understand what liability the state has actually taken on in their name.

Mishaal Waseem
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2026