ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday suspended a planned increase in toll plaza fees on the orders of prime minister, the communications minister said, citing economic pressures on citizens already facing rising fuel prices.
Federal Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan said he had directed the National Highway Authority (NHA) to withdraw the notification issued earlier for the increase, adding that a new notification had been issued to suspend the hike.
“In the current situation, no additional burden can be placed on citizens,” Khan said in a statement, adding that the government would do everything possible to ease public hardship on the prime minister’s instructions.
He said that the increase, which was scheduled to take effect from April 5, had been put on hold, and that the NHA had also been instructed to cancel an earlier notification issued on April 1.
The authority had initially announced a revised toll structure across national highways and motorways, including higher charges for cars, vans, buses and trucks on major routes such as the M1, M3, M4 and M5 motorways.
Under the now-suspended plan, toll charges for cars on some major routes would have risen significantly, with fees set at Rs1,000 on the Lahore–Abdul Hakeem motorway and Rs1,500 on the Multan–Sukkur motorway, according to the earlier notification.
Other routes, including the Islamabad–Peshawar M1 motorway, would have seen tolls of Rs700 for cars, while rates for buses and trucks were also revised upward. The NHA confirmed that no increase in toll plaza fees would be implemented in the 2025–26 fiscal year following the suspension.
Khan said the decision was aimed at reducing pressure on citizens already struggling with rising petrol and diesel prices. “People are already facing difficulties due to increases in fuel prices,” he said, adding that the government remained committed to easing the burden on the public. He also said the situation was challenging but that the nation could overcome it collectively.
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