KARACHI – The All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance has announced an indefinite nationwide strike starting Saturday, August 8, over what it described as anti-transport policies and rising operational costs.
Addressing a press conference, Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan announced the strike and demanded the resignation of Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik. He also called for the government to withdraw recent increases in petroleum product prices and toll taxes.
Awan urged the government to fix diesel and petrol prices on a monthly basis instead of revising them daily. He also demanded that the withholding tax be reduced from 7% to 2%.
The transport alliance further called for an end to the implementation of axle-load regulations, the withdrawal of Customs SRO 1619/2024, and the repeal of the law scrapping commercial vehicles that are between 10 and 20 years old.
He also demanded the withdrawal of the Rs9.7 million blood money (diyat) law for road accidents and called for the issuance of Heavy Transport Vehicle (HTV) licences to drivers.
In addition, Awan urged the authorities to provide parking facilities at Karachi Port and Port Qasim, improve the law and order situation in Balochistan, and abolish the Sindh government’s third-party insurance requirement.
