KARACHI – Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan has strongly condemned the increase in petroleum prices and announced a 5 percent rise in goods transport fares across Pakistan.
Reacting to the fuel price hike, Malik Shehzad Awan said transporters nationwide have rejected the increase, warning that rising operating costs are pushing the transport sector into severe financial strain.
He urged the federal government to abolish toll tax, withholding tax, and fines imposed by motorway and traffic police, claiming that flawed government policies are forcing thousands of transporters to park their vehicles.
Awan said fuel prices have been rising continuously without any meaningful relief for goods transporters, adding that the government’s subsidy of Rs80,000 for truck trailers is far too little.
He further stated that repeated fuel price hikes have increased the operating cost of a single trailer trip by nearly Rs200,000. With trucks making around four trips a month, transporters are facing an additional burden of nearly Rs800,000 in monthly expenses.
Warning of broader economic consequences, he said rising fuel prices are fueling inflation nationwide and hurting the transport business, already under pressure due to war-like conditions. He cautioned that unless the federal government reviews its policies, Pakistan’s transport wheel could come to a halt.
