The caretaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government directed on Friday the authorities to evict the operating company of Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) from the terminal after it demanded payment of fees and warned of a possible service shutdown from Monday.

The move may deepen the uncertainty surrounding the future of the Peshawar BRT service. Around 300,000 people travel by the Peshawar BRT.

The operator has been demanding the payment for several weeks. This week it said that the service may face a shutdown from Monday if the government failed to pay.

However, the caretaker transport minister, in a letter to the secretary of transport, has said that the agreement with the operator has expired in October 2022.

He directed the secretary to pay 50% of the total dues to the company. The remaining funds will be paid after the company vacates the terminal.

The operator says it should be paid at least Rs450 million to ensure the continued operation of the service.

Since the start of the project, the BRT Peshawar has been facing various challenges including delays, faulty design, and continuous increase in expenditure.

The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on May 7, reopened an investigation into the Peshawar BRT and issued notices to officials of the project management unit.

The investigation had been stalled for several years under the PTI rule.