The National Logistics Corporation (), formerly known as the National Logistics Cell, is a Pakistani state-owned logistics company based in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

, Pakistan. It is considered as the logistics arm of

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and operates under its indirect control. As of 2011, NLC was responsible for transporting approximately 50 percent of Pakistan's domestic

crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring u ...

, amounting to about 76,000 barrels per day.

History

The National Logistics Corporation was founded following the 1977–1978 wheat crisis in Pakistan, due to insufficient railway capabilities to transport wheat from the Karachi seaport inland. Initially, the

was asked to address the crisis, which ultimately led to the formation of the NLC as an independent entity. Later, it was given the role of supplying military equipment to

Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' (), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' (), an Arabic term that broadly refers to people who engage in ''jihad'' (), interpreted in a jurisprudence of Islam as the fight on behalf of God, religion or the commun ...

fighting the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during the presidency of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. During this period, NLC also acquired the freight business of

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

. In the early stages of the Afghan refugee crisis, the NLC used the Pakistan Army's transport capabilities to provide logistical support to approximately three million Afghan refugees between 1982 and 1989. In the fiscal year 1994-1995, the NLC was allocated approximately Rs 245 million by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

to invest in

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

s and bonds, aimed at funding vehicle replacements and other infrastructural developments. The government was the sole financer of the NLC's infrastructure development during this period. By 2004, the NLC had evolved into a major logistics organization, boasting a carriage capacity of 50,000 tons of dry cargo and 9 million liters of fluid cargo, with a fleet of 2,000 vehicles. Its assets were valued at around Rs 5 billion. Since its establishment, NLC had also diversified into the

construction industry Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the ...

, undertaking various military and civilian

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

projects in Pakistan, including

road A road is a thoroughfare used primarily for movement of traffic. Roads differ from streets, whose primary use is local access. They also differ from stroads, which combine the features of streets and roads. Most modern roads are paved. Th ...

s and

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s. In July 2011, the Government of Pakistan allowed the NLC to participate in the bidding process for the acquisition of a state-owned construction company, which was a change from its original charter. The decision was made to refocus the NLC and align its activities with its statutory framework. The NLC sought to acquire international assets owned by the National Power Construction Company. As of 2011, NLC was responsible for transporting approximately 50 percent of Pakistan's domestic

, amounting to about 76,000 barrels per day. In 2014, NLC was awarded the contract to construct the Rawalpindi section of

Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus The Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus is a bus rapid transit system operating in the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area of Pakistan. It consists of four routes, namely the Red, Orange, Blue, and Green Lines. The Red and Orange Lines have d ...

at 1.04 per cent higher than the estimated cost.

Controversies

In 2010, a corruption scandal was unearthed that involved two

generals, (Maj Gen Khalid Zaheer Akhtar and Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal), and caused a loss of to the company through speculative investments between 2004 and 2008. In 2015, both of them were convicted by the military court of Pakistan.

References

{{Ministry of Planning and Development (Pakistan) Pakistan Army Logistics companies of Pakistan N Companies based in Rawalpindi Government-owned companies of Pakistan