Goods transporters postpone strike for 40 days in ‘broader national interest’

The Pakistan-based goods transporters have decided to suspend their strike for 40 days in the "broader national interest", according to a statement by Malik Shehbaz Awan, President of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Ittehad. The initial plan was to embark on a countrywide wheel-jam strike on August 8th after unsuccessful talks with the government over various issues, including daily fixing of petrol and diesel prices.

A crucial round of negotiations between senior federal and provincial government officials and transporters' representatives at the Governor House in Karachi was scheduled to take place today, following the failure of negotiations on Tuesday. Awan stated that some of their issues had been resolved immediately, while others required cabinet approval and were granted a timeframe of 15 to 20 days.

The government had promised to address the demand for daily fuel price changes within 15 days, although transporters would prefer changes to occur on a fortnightly or monthly basis. They assured that overloading would be controlled in line with the law on axle loads. Additionally, they were reassured that the issue of withholding tax would be raised with the finance minister and a committee formed to resolve it.

Sindh government's assurances included the shift of operations to a new truck stand within a year. The Sindh Governor, Nihal Hashmi, mentioned that both sides had mutually agreed on each other's points of view, emphasizing the importance of working together for the national interest. Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan reported that many of the transporters' issues had been resolved, with committees formed to address the remaining unresolved matters.

Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab also assured the transporters that the Sindh government would work towards resolving their concerns, while acknowledging that some issues might require coordination with the Karachi Port Trust and legislative changes. Among the key demands of the transporters are uniform enforcement of axle-load limits, permission for 10-wheel vehicles to carry up to 35 tonnes, reductions in diesel prices and toll taxes, relief in withholding tax, withdrawal of customs provisions allowing authorities to confiscate vehicles in violation of customs laws, withdrawal of powers of the Punjab Highway Patrol to issue challans to commercial vehicles, and measures to facilitate the issuance of heavy transport vehicle licences to drivers.