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Islamabad – Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan chaired a high-level meeting at the National Highway Authority headquarters and ordered a fast-track move to make motorways and highways barrier-free and safer. He directed that an artificial intelligence-based computerized monitoring system be installed on the M1 and M2 motorways in the first phase to detect violations and manage incidents automatically.
The minister also called for strengthening the electronic toll collection system known as E Tag and for full digitization of revenue collection across the NHA network. He asked that roadway monitoring be linked to automatic alerts so that vehicle owners receive mobile messages when traffic rules are broken. These steps aim to reduce manual intervention and to lower the risk of accidents caused by sudden stops on fast lanes.
Abdul Aleem Khan stressed that motorway police must avoid stepping into traffic to stop vehicles and that officer safety and traveler safety are the top priorities. He asked NHA to prepare daily operational dashboards and to send reports to the Secretary and the Chairman. He directed that the open auction model used for some toll plazas be extended to other contracts and that NOC fees for commercial land be fixed by the city and business category to make the policy uniform.
Environmental measures were part of the plan. The minister urged private sector participation in tree plantation along both sides of motorways and ordered NHA to develop nontraditional partnerships for plantation and preservation. He also asked for wider public consultation to shape commercial policy and to improve services for commuters.
The meeting included briefings from the Chairman of NHA and senior officials and a review of ongoing projects. The government has signalled that technology-driven enforcement and full digitization will form the core of future motorway policy. The NHA will send implementation plans in the coming weeks.
