The Minister of the Interior of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, has announced that the Kashmir Chowk Underpass in Islamabad will be open to traffic in the next 10 days.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to the construction site on Wednesday, Naqvi said the Capital Development Authority (CDA), contractors and other teams were working around the clock to complete the project.
“Today is the 12th day since work on the Kashmir Underpass began. The progress is visible, and we will try to open it to traffic within the next 10 days,” he said.
Naqvi said construction had continued without a complete suspension of traffic or major diversions, although some commuters might have experienced inconvenience.
He credited coordination between the CDA and Islamabad traffic police with helping vehicles continue to move through the area during the work.
The underpass is intended to ease congestion at Kashmir Chowk, a key junction for motorists travelling from different parts of Pakistan towards Murree.
Naqvi said the road beyond the junction was already clear, which he expected would help maintain smoother traffic flow once the project was completed.
The interior minister said the underpass would be opened as soon as construction was finished. He added that he would request Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to attend its inauguration.
Naqvi also expressed hope that the project would become one of Pakistan’s fastest-completed infrastructure schemes.
However, the 10-day timeframe remains a target announced by the minister, rather than a confirmed opening date. The final date will depend on the completion of construction work.
