'Goods transporters’ strike to continue until notification is issued'

KARACHI: The President of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance, Malik Shehzad Awan, has announced that their ongoing strike will continue until the issuance of an official notification regarding their demands.

Speaking in Karachi, Awan said that all loading and unloading activities at the country’s ports will remain suspended. He added that container terminals at Port Qasim and Karachi Port are already operating at nearly 80 per cent capacity.

Malik Shehzad Awan warned that if the strike is not resolved, container terminals will soon run out of space to accommodate additional containers.

He stated that negotiations with a government committee are scheduled for today at 12 noon. According to him, talks have already been held with negotiation committees representing the federal government and the Punjab government.

The alliance president said that both the federal and Punjab governments have shown readiness to accept the transporters’ demands. However, he made it clear that the strike will not be called off until a formal notification is issued.

Goods transporters are complaining that in various parts of Punjab, their drivers are being detained, while amendments to the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965 is also resulting in stricter regulations for heavy transport vehicles.

The alliance also demanded that HTV licenses be issued to drivers and that mobile units of the driving licenses authority be deployed across national highways to issue licenses on the spot.