PM Imran takes notice of harassment of transporters

Issues directives to formulate a comprehensive action plan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken serious notice of incidents of transporters’ harassment by officials and issued directions to formulate a comprehensive action plan.

“The concerns of stakeholders, condition of roads, the capacity of modes of transportation ie cargo trucks and freight trains, and most importantly the impact of implementation of legislation on common man, must be given due consideration,” said the prime minister while chairing a high-level meeting on the issue of implementation of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000, the reservations of stakeholders and future course of action regarding the implementation of the law on Monday.

Minister for Communications Murad Saeed, Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood and senior officials from the ministries of communications and commerce were in attendance.

PM Imran said the implementation of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000 would help in ensuring roads safety.

Imran said insufficient modes of transportation and the state of country's economy essentially required that before immediate enforcement of the law, it must be ensured that the implementation of the law does not adversely impact industry and the people.

The PM directed that all the facts should be placed before the courts for pleading a phased implementation of the law. Simultaneously, increasing the number of cargo trucks and enhancement of capacity of Pakistan Railways should also be focused, he added.

The progress made so far on the implementation of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000, the reservations of the stakeholders regarding the axle load and the orders of the courts were discussed during the meeting.

Communications Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik briefed the meeting on the progress made so far regarding the implementation of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000, the current condition of road infrastructure and the current state of modes of transportation, including the availability of cargo trucks, the capacity of freight trains of Pakistan Railways to handle dispatch of consignments.

The economic impact of the enforcement of law relating to axle load and the reservations of the concerned stakeholders were also highlighted by the communications secretary.

The PM was informed that the National Highway Authority incurred an annual expenditure of Rs65 billion on the maintenance of roads, damaged as a result of overloading.

The excess load on the trucks does not only result in the damage of roads but also was a major factor for road accidents causing loss of valuable lives.

The meeting also discussed in detail the problems being faced by the transporters, particularly the issues of corruption/bribes and harassment by the officials. (With additional input from APP)