Three-hour talks fail to end transport strike

A meeting between the Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI) and the traffic police chief ended inconclusively on Saturday after three hours of talks, triggering transporters to announce the continuation of their ongoing strike.

The five-member delegation, led by KTI President Haji Tawab Khan and Secretary General Muhammad Ilyas, met DIG Traffic Pir Muhammad Shah to discuss long-standing grievances of the public transport sector.

DIG Shah assured the delegation that e-challan fines would be reviewed at the original penalty stage and that manual challans issued through mobile phone photography by traffic police would be discontinued.

He also reportedly assured that the issue of vehicles impounded during protests and road blockages would be taken up with the police chief.

However, transporters said several key demands remained unresolved, including issues related to biometric verification, insurance requirements and the release of impounded vehicles - matters they argued were beyond the DIG Traffic's jurisdiction.