Web Desk: Goods transporters have launched a nationwide strike, suspending loading operations at major ports and warning that the disruption will continue until the government addresses their demands.
Malik Shahzad Awan, president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, said the strike began on Saturday after talks with federal and provincial authorities failed to produce an agreement.
Speaking to ARY News programme “The Reporters,” Awan said transporters had repeatedly warned the government that they would strike if their concerns were not addressed.
“We have stopped loading from today,” Awan said, adding that trucks already on the road would continue toward Karachi. He said no cargo would be loaded from Karachi Port or Port Qasim as part of the industrial action.
According to Awan, government officials contacted the transporters two days before the strike after the alliance formally announced its plans. Transporters also held talks with the Sindh government, but the negotiations failed to resolve the dispute.
Awan accused both federal and provincial governments of failing to take the transport sector’s concerns seriously.
He said the strike would affect transport operations across the country and would remain in place until the government met the alliance’s demands.
A central demand is the withdrawal of the government’s policy of changing petroleum prices on a daily basis, along with a reduction in fuel prices.
Awan said that if the government could not lower fuel prices, it should instead reduce withholding taxes and toll charges to ease the financial burden on transport operators.
He also referred to earlier commitments made by government officials regarding relief on taxes and tolls, saying the transporters were now seeking action on those promises.
The transport alliance is also calling for the resignation of ministers who, according to Awan, had given written assurances to address the sector’s concerns.
Awan said the strike would continue until the government fulfilled the transporters’ demands, raising the prospect of disruptions to freight movement and supply chains if the standoff persists.
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