Punjab Highway Patrol to be deployed at Lahore - Sialkot Motorway

The Punjab Highway Patrol will be deployed at the Lahore – Sialkot Motorway (LSM) in order to provide security to commuters along the 91km route which is currently unmanned according to a notification issued by the Central Police Office Punjab.

Lahore - Sialkot Motorway, Punjab Highway Patrol — Punjab Highway Patrol to be deployed at Lahore – Sialkot Motorway.

The decision to deploy Punjab Highway Patrol on the Lahore – Sialkot Motorway (LSM) comes after a mother was gang raped in front of her children after getting stranded on the road when her car broke down on Wednesday and police response was delayed over jurisdiction issued allowing the culprits to commit the crime and flee the scene.

The notification issued by the Central Police Office Punjab states:

Ever since the operationalization of newly constructed Lahore – Sialkot Motorway (LSM), it has remained unmanned both in terms of security and traffic management,
Motorway Police has not taken over it so far.

The notification further reads:

In order to ensure the security of commuters, the IGP has directed PHP to deploy manpower on the 91-km stretch of LSM project,

However, this will be a temporary solution until the National Highways and Motorways Police (NHMP) takes over.

It is pertinent to mention that the stretch of Lahore – Sialkot Motorway (LSM) project was constructed by Frontier Works Organization (FWO) and became operation in March 2020.

The stretch of road has remained unmanned since its operationalization due to lack of resources according to the Inspector General National Highways and Motorways Police (NHMP) Dr Syed Kaleem Imam.

This is a copy of the notification: