ISLAMABAD/LAHORE: A fresh debate over the financing of Lahore’s Orange Line Metro Train has erupted after a federal minister’s rebuttal to a former tax chief’s allegation was itself challenged by official documents.
The controversy began after former Federal Board of Revenue [FBR] Chairman Shabbar Zaidi, in a recent television interview, alleged a diversion of funds related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC].
“Look at their dishonesty when the CPEC money was coming in, they built the Orange Line train in Lahore with the CPEC money, that money was not for the Orange Line train,” Zaidi claimed.
His remarks prompted a swift response from Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, who took to X [formerly Twitter] to refute the allegation.
“For your information, the Orange Train in Lahore was not built with federal government money, it was built 100% with the Punjab government’s own money and budget,” Iqbal stated.
However, the minister’s clarification has now been contested by a fact-check citing official sources.
احسن اقبال صاحب کے دعوے کے برعکس #CPEC کی آفیشل ویب سائٹ اور حکومت پنجاب کے مطابق یہ پروجیکٹ سی پیک کے تحت مکمل کیا گیا۔ چینی کمپنی کے عہدیدار کی ویڈیو بھی اس حوالے سے موجود ہے۔ https://t.co/Imi6eLYcpN pic.twitter.com/ixQhn5CK6o
— Muhammad Umair (@MohUmair87) July 22, 2026
Lahore-based journalist Muhammad Umair responded to Iqbal’s post with screenshots from the official CPEC website and Punjab government records, arguing that the project was indeed listed and executed as part of the CPEC framework.
“Contrary to the claims of Mr. Ahsan Iqbal, according to the official #CPEC website and the Punjab government, this project was completed under CPEC. A video of an official from the Chinese company regarding this matter is also available,” Umair wrote.
According to the official CPEC portal maintained by the Ministry of Planning, the Lahore Orange Line Metro Train is listed as a completed Early Harvest project under CPEC.
The Punjab Mass Transit Authority’s own project profile also identifies the Orange Line as a CPEC initiative, built with Chinese financing through a concessional loan from The Export-Import Bank of China [EXIM Bank], with construction carried out by a consortium of Chinese state-owned companies including CR-NORINCO.
The Orange Line, inaugurated in October 2020, is Pakistan’s first metro train system, spanning 27.1 kilometers in Lahore. While operational costs and subsidies are borne by the Punjab government, its capital cost of approximately $1.47 billion was largely financed through Chinese government lending under the broader CPEC umbrella, a fact documented in multiple official briefings since 2015.
Neither the Ministry of Planning nor the Punjab government has issued a further clarification following the journalist’s fact-check at the time of filing this report.
The exchange has reignited a long-running public confusion over the distinction between CPEC-funded projects, federally funded PSDP projects, and provincial projects financed through bilateral Chinese loans.
