Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate work to pave double tracks on the Quetta-Karachi route during his visit to Balochistan.

According to the former director-general of motorway police in the province, Sher Ali Jhakrani, nearly 8,000 people die in accidents every year due to the dilapidated single-track road that connects both cities.

Everyone driving in our country tries to overtake each other causing many accidents, a rickshaw driver, Ghulam Rasool, said while talking to Aaj News.

Businesspersons commute on this road, where many accidents happen, said Muhammad Jan, a resident of Quetta. He added that the road must be paved into double tracks soon and the prime minister should soon get work started on repairs.

Shehbaz is in the province for a one-day visit to Quetta, during which he will also inaugurate the construction of a liver transplant facility in the city. There is no hospital that offers liver transplants in Balochistan, which is why patients and their families have to travel to Karachi.

According to sources, the premier will review a special relief package and preside over a meeting on the law and order situation.

The visit comes after the inclusion of two Balochistan National Party leaders in the federal cabinet, which increased to 41 members on Friday. The BNP, which has been vocal about provincial rights, joined the cabinet on Shehbaz’s assurances that the government would begin a judicial inquiry on the Chagai incidents.

Shehbaz has already directed the Balochistan government to provide relief to the public in Ramazan.

In 2020, the PTI government announced a package of Rs600 billion for development projects in southern Balochistan.

It had promised to provide Rs540 million and the rest would be spent by the provincial government. However, Jamhoori Wattan Party chief Shazain Bugti, who parted ways with PTI ahead of the vote of no-confidence, had claimed no development funds were spent in the province.

Addressing reporters, along with PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, on March 27, he said all matters were addressed to end insurgency and only funds were needed to provide resources – including scholarships, blood bank and other services.