ISLAMABAD – Minister for Railways Sheikh Rashid Ahmed Friday said that therevival of railway track from Peshawar-Torkham would create opportunitiesfor the people of the erstwhile FATA, bringing them into mainstream.
During meeting with Minister for Finance Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, the minister said that the track would help promotetourism.Feasibility study would be examined and on arrangement of mode of financingthrough different options in consultation with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa TourismDepartment, the project would be executed, he added.Sheikh Rashid said it was a fact that railway track from Peshawar-TorkhamBorder was not in use mainly due to the fact that track was damaged in theflash floods during 2007.He said that reconstruction of British-era railway track at Torkham leadingto Afghanistan by Ministry of Railways would help bring more opportunitiesfor business community on both sides of the Durand Line.The minister said the administration had already given notice toshopkeepers and other encroachers along the railway track to vacatePakistan Railways property shortly so that restoration work could begin.Sheikh Rashid said that a high level delegation of Pakistan Railways hadalso visited the dilapidated track recently, in order to check either thisproject was workable or not.Running along the historic Khyber Pass Route, the track had been builtbetween 1901 and 1925 and it was declared as the `lifeline ofconnectivity’, the minister added.Minister for Finance offered all out support to Pakistan Railways for therestoration of the track by the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa whichwould promote tourism in the areas.
