Islamabad: The Ministry of Finance has declined to provide funding for an upcoming Regional Transport Ministers Conference in Islamabad, directing the Ministry of Communications to bear all expenses from its own resources.
Resultantly, the road managers on the strict directions of the Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan have decided to fund the conference through Road Maintenance Account (RMA).
The conference is the brainchild of Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan, who—unlike his predecessors—has been an active traveler abroad. He is quite frequent in engaging his counterparts in the rest of the world especially Central Asian Countries.
Initially, the Ministry of Communications sought additional funds from the Finance Division for the event, but after a cold response, the burden was shifted onto the National Highway Authority (NHA), a subordinate body of the ministry.
According to an NHA executive board decision, more than Rs. 250 million will be drawn from the Road Maintenance Account (RMA) to finance the international gathering.
Traditionally, the RMA—based on toll tax collection—was considered a “sacred” fund, strictly reserved for the upkeep of Pakistan’s 14,000-kilometre-long national road network.
However, sources said that the rules governing the RMA were recently amended at the minister’s behest, allowing its diversion for non-maintenance projects.
Well-placed sources revealed that an event management firm M/s Naqeebz Consulting Private Limited has already been given a go ahead and it has started its preparations, though a “cover-up” tendering process is still underway at the NHA.
It is worth noting here that only two event management firms applied for planning, designing and coordination of this important event. The companies include M/s Naqeebz Consulting Private Limited and M/s Badar Expo Solutions.
Interestingly, M/s Badar Expo is disqualified in technical evaluation—leaving M/s Naqeebz Consulting Private Limited alone in the race to get this contract, which would be awarded once financial evaluation would be done.
The firm will be responsible to manage the entire event including the air tickets for the dignitaries, media planning, venue preparations and rest of the services.
The firm will be responsible for branding on the airport, Serena Hotel, Jinnah Convention Center (JCC), internal setups at JCC, meeting and conference room preparations while a dinner would also be hosted for the guest at Pakistan Monument.
The arrangements of the event would be coordinated by a three member committee headed by the Director Establishment NHA with two representatives of the ministry of communication as its members.
The funds for this conference would be charged from the annual maintenance plan 2024-25 under a head of administrative expenditures.
The two-day conference is scheduled to take place in Islamabad on October 23 and 24, 2025 with the aim to strengthen regional cooperation, enhance road connectivity and improve transportation infrastructure across the region. Invited countries include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco and Kenya.
In addition, heads and representatives of major international organizations such as the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Road Organization (IRO) are also being invited to participate in the conference.
