The Senate Standing Committee on Railways has expressed strong displeasure over the repeated absence of the minister for railways and the minister of state concerned from committee meetings, saying that their presence was vital for the proceedings. The committee directed that a formal letter be written to the prime minister in this regard. A meeting of the committee was held under the chairmanship of Senator Shahadat Awan.
The committee reprimanded officials for submitting incomplete reports on pending litigation, theft, misappropriation, track damage and freight losses. It was pointed out that cases pending before lower courts, including criminal cases, theft cases and cases involving missing track infrastructure, had been omitted from the documentation provided to the committee. Shahadat gave the ministry of railways a 10-day deadline to submit a comprehensive and updated report covering all pending cases before all judicial forums.
The committee observed that cases filed by the ministry itself had not been fixed for hearing for a long time, including cases pending before the courts since 2018. It was deliberated that some details of pending cases provided by the ministry were incorrect, as many of the cases had already been disposed of by the relevant courts. The ministry was unaware of the status of these cases and had informed the committee that they were still pending for arguments.
Shahadat inquired about the working mechanism of the Law Department and sought details about the strength of officers and officials working there. The secretary railways briefed the committee that around 300 officers and officials were working in the department, which he said was insufficient, adding that the system needed an improvement. Shahadat raised serious concerns over the illegal and unauthorised occupation of Pakistan Railways' 34,763 residential quarters.
He said that of the total residential accommodations, 2,323 quarters were illegally occupied, while 1,732 were occupied by individuals with no connection to Pakistan Railways. Additionally, 321 quarters were occupied by unauthorised persons with no clear association with the department, while 209 were occupied by retired employees of the Ministry of Railways. The IG Railways briefed the committee that a survey conducted two months ago had identified 1,087 quarters that had been sublet by authorised or former occupants, 804 that had been illegally allotted, 236 that were being used for illegal activities and 27 that were being used for commercial purposes, including water filtration plants.
The committee expressed serious concern over the overall housing system of Pakistan Railways. Shahadat said unauthorised occupants were using utilities, including electricity, water and sewage services, while electricity meters were often registered under unofficial names or remained unmetered, resulting in costs being borne by the Railways. Committee members expressed concern that legitimate railway employees on waiting lists were being deprived of government accommodation despite the availability of housing infrastructure, roads and other amenities.
The committee directed the inspector general to register FIRs, evict illegal occupants and hand over the quarters to the railway administration. Shahadat directed the secretary railways to look into the matter and take strict action on all the issues. Senator Kamil Ali Agha raised the issue of travel concessions for journalists.
The CEO informed the committee that the matter would be handled by a separate public relations wing dealing with journalists' affairs and that the committee would be updated on the issue. The committee directed the ministry of railways to submit a comprehensive report within the stipulated timeframe. It acknowledged the successful resumption of the Mohenjo Daro Express.
Noting its positive public reception, another proposal was discussed to resume the Khushhal Khan Khattak Express, which runs between Peshawar and Karachi.