M-6: Punjab gets motorways, Sindh only gets foundation stones

The M-6 Motorway, a crucial link connecting Pakistan's seaports to inland cities, has faced prolonged delays, particularly its segment passing through Sindh. While motorway networks expanded rapidly in Punjab, Sindh's essential M-6 connection remained incomplete, prompting questions about the federal government's differing resource allocation. Recent advertisements by Federal Minister Abdul Aleem Khan announced a $705 million allocation (approximately 200 billion PKR) for a 60-kilometer section from Rohri to Ranipur, with groundbreaking anticipated in November 2026. This 306-kilometer M-6 segment, costing an estimated 400 billion PKR, is divided into five parts, with financing secured for three from the Islamic Development Bank and OPEC Fund, while the remaining two are planned under Public-Private Partnership or BOT arrangements. The project has seen multiple tenders, proposals from various international and local companies, and several groundbreaking ceremonies since 2016, including one by then-Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in December 2022 and President Asif Ali Zardari in March 2013 for the M-9, but actual construction repeatedly failed to commence, leading to public skepticism that the search for investors has become a delaying tactic rather than a path to completion.