KARACHI – The Karachi Goods Carriers Association (KGCA) has rejected the government’s recent increase in diesel and petrol prices as well as the existing fuel pricing mechanism, warning that it will launch a nationwide wheel-jam strike if the decision is not withdrawn within 24 hours.
Addressing a press conference alongside KGCA President Malik Sher Khan, Vice Chairman and Vice President Ayaz Khan, KGCA General Secretary Nadeem Akhtar Arain said Pakistan’s transport sector is the backbone of the national economy but has been consistently neglected.
He said repeated increases in diesel and petrol prices had pushed transporters into a severe financial crisis, adding that despite declining global oil prices, neither the public nor transporters were benefiting from lower international fuel costs.
Arain said the government’s current policies had not only hurt the transport industry but also placed additional strain on the country’s overall economy.
He also alleged that truck drivers and vehicle owners in Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and other regions were facing unnecessary inspections, heavy fines, alleged bribery and harassment by various government departments.
According to Arain, such actions have significantly disrupted transport businesses, while drivers continue to face unfair treatment.
He warned that if the government failed to address the association’s demands immediately, the suspension of goods transport nationwide would severely disrupt the movement of import and export cargo from the ports of Karachi, Port Qasim and Gwadar, as well as the supply of petroleum products, food, medicines and other essential commodities, causing serious damage to both the economy and the public.
Arain said the Karachi Goods Carriers Association was in constant contact with major transport organisations across the country and would soon announce a nationwide protest campaign and wheel-jam strike following joint consultations.
The association urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the finance minister and other relevant authorities to immediately review the recent fuel price hike, resolve transporters’ concerns and take urgent measures to address the challenges facing the country’s largest freight transport sector in order to avert a potential economic crisis.
