ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel has slammed the National Highway Authority for awarding major contracts to blacklisted company NXCC and warned of contempt action against top officials.
The Senate Sub-Committee on communications has called to reprimand the National Highway Authority (NHA) for awarding multimillion-rupee contracts to NXCC, a company previously declared blacklisted and non-performing, while warning that continued defiance of parliamentary oversight could trigger contempt proceedings against senior officials.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Kamil Ali Agha and attended by Senators Zamir Hussain Ghumro and Saifullah Abro, reviewed the terms of reference for probing the Tranche-III Rajanpur–D.G. Khan–D.I. Khan AREC project and the arbitration clearance granted to NXCC in the Lodhran–Multan road scheme despite its disputed track record.
Lawmakers expressed outrage at the absence of the Federal Minister for Communications, the Secretary, and the NHA Chairman, branding their no-show as contempt of Parliament.
Senator Abro, angered, accused the NHA of ridicule and evasiveness, citing its failure to submit promised documents by August 12. Senator Ghumro cautioned that a formal contempt notice was imminent if officials persisted with their non-cooperative approach. Chairman Agha reinforced the warning, stating that if committee recommendations were ignored, the issue would be escalated to the Privileges Committee. He reminded the forum that the Prime Minister had already suspended nine NHA officers over the controversy, underscoring the gravity of the matter.
During the briefing, NHA officials admitted that contractors had refused to provide mandatory financial records. This admission drew strong rebuke from members, who questioned how contracts worth billions could have been awarded without due diligence.
“If NHA did not have technical and financial documents, how was the contract awarded in the first place?” Senator Ghumro asked. Abro added that NXCC was openly mocking the government, calling the case a matter of national importance.
The subcommittee also revealed claims of institutional pressure on its members and accused the NHA of shielding corrupt practices. Chairman Agha alleged that the entire agency seemed complicit, while Abro warned that both the Secretary Communications and the NHA Chairman would be held personally responsible if reforms were not enacted.
Additional concerns surfaced regarding alleged illegal tax exemptions granted to NXCC and other firms working on the Gilgit–Shandur road project. The committee recommended that the NHA coordinate with the Federal Board of Revenue to investigate these exemptions. It also pressed the authority to take up with the Asian Development Bank certain restrictive clauses that limited its oversight.
Senator Abro highlighted continued delays in implementing Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rulings, accusing NHA of willful negligence. He argued that the authority had failed to take action even within 24 days of the PPRA’s decision, suggesting deliberate avoidance of compliance.
Concluding the session, Senator Agha asserted that the NXCC bid was fraudulent and called for immediate punitive measures against the company. The committee recommended accountability not only for NXCC but also for senior NHA officials who continued to award the company lucrative contracts despite its blacklisted status. Members insisted that repeated allocations of major road projects to NXCC reflected systemic corruption rather than isolated lapses.
The Senate subcommittee’s findings intensify scrutiny on the NHA, which has faced criticism in recent years over transparency lapses in infrastructure tenders. Past controversies have included irregular bidding processes, project delays, and inflated costs in highway development schemes. Lawmakers warned that if the NHA leadership failed to comply with parliamentary directions, the issue could escalate into a broader confrontation with Parliament.
As the inquiry moves forward, the outcome carries significant implications for Pakistan’s governance and infrastructure development. The case not only questions procurement integrity in multi-billion-rupee road projects but also raises the specter of institutional complicity in shielding a blacklisted contractor. For the Senate committee, the message was clear: if the NHA does not cleanse itself by holding NXCC accountable, Parliament will step in to enforce accountability.
The subcommittee is expected to submit its findings to the full Senate Standing Committee on Communications, where further action, including referral to the Privileges Committee, remains under consideration.
