Goods transporters end strike after successful talks with govt

KARACHI: The nationwide strike by goods transporters has officially ended following successful negotiations with the government, ARY News reported.

According to reports, the Transporters Alliance announced the conclusion of the strike after their demands were accepted and a formal agreement was signed.

All transporters affiliated with the alliance have signed the agreement, which has now been officially notified. According to Shehzad Awan, President of the Goods Transporters Alliance, all issues faced by transporters were presented to government representatives during the talks.

Both federal and provincial governments agreed to the demands, leading to the strike’s suspension. The announcement of the agreement and the end of the strike were marked by celebratory fireworks at the transporters’ camps.

Following the settlement, the process of resuming transport services across the country has already begun, restoring the movement of goods nationwide.

Earlier, due to an ongoing goods transporters’ strike, handling operations for import and export containers at ports in Karachi have come to a standstill.

As a result of the strike, thousands of import and export containers had been stranded at ports, disrupting trade activities.

Exporters were facing financial losses because of the unavailability of transporters and containers.

The suspension of thousands of imported containers at Port Qasim and Karachi Port has also affected local industries, with production processes facing interruptions due to shortages of raw materials.

A large number of import and export containers remain stuck at port terminals in Karachi. Ships were being forced to depart without loading containers, which is expected to result in exporters bearing additional demurrage and detention charges.

More than 16,000 containers were held at the South Asia Pakistan Terminal, while around 13,000 import and export containers are stalled at the Qasim International Container Terminal.