PESHAWAR, Nov 28: Work on the Chaman-Spin Boldak railway track has been suspended after the Afghan government refused to issue no-objection certificate for the project, federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said here on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, he said material and machinery had been dispatched to Spin Boldak to start work on the project, but the Afghan government turned down a request to issue an NOC.

He said he saw no specific reason for Afghanistan’s refusal to issue the certificate.

Pakistan had planned to lay the track from Chaman to Kandahar which was to be extended to the Central Asian states to further trade activities in the region.

The minister said the track between Lahore and Khaniwal was being doubled and contract worth Rs5 billion had been awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation.

Sheikh Rasheed said that a track from Havalian to China would be laid and Germany and China would prepare feasibility report for the project.

He said Pakistan Railways would dispose of its properties to overcome its financial deficit, adding that railways had no resources to overcome its deficit and the government had decided to auction its property.

In this connection, he said, the railways would auction 100 CNG stations while establish 50 ‘budget hotels’ in different parts of the country to increase its revenue.

He said that a circular train from Peshawar to Charsadda via Nowshera would be launched and work on Bannu-Zobe train would be undertaken soon.