As oil tanker drivers celebrate resumption of NATO supply, some lament lack of security

They have also asked the contractors to pay them so that vehicles can be repaired.

KARACHI: After Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira announced that the land routes to Afghanistan would be opened for the supply of Nato goods, dozens of oil tanker owners and drivers came out on Tuesday night to Shirin Jinnah Colony to celebrate the news.

For 40-year-old Wahid Shah, who drives oil tankers for Nato, the news was no less than a blessing. He heard the announcement on television at a tea hotel in Shireen Jinnah Colony. “I called my family in Khyber Agency to share the wonderful news with them,” he said.

“The reopening of supply routes was necessary for thousands of people who deliver Nato goods. We have no other jobs or source of income except these vehicles,” said Shah. “If the tankers are stopped, we have no food to eat, no place to sleep and no new clothes to wear. I don’t even have any money to get back home.”

Although the oil tanker drivers were happy that the supply of Nato goods was being resumed, they were worried that their vehicles would be attacked by terrorists and thieves because of poor security along the roads to Afghanistan.

“We hope that the government will provide security. But if they can’t, then they should not reopen the routes,” said another driver, Saeed, as he sipped tea at a hotel near the oil depots.

His young brother, Naheedullah, was killed in Kuchlak as he was driving an oil tanker to Afghanistan. “My brother was shot four times and the tanker was torched. The government should ensure that we are protected,” he said.

On Wednesday morning, a number of oil tanker owners and drivers gathered at the offices of oil tanker owners’ association to discuss their issues concerning the reopening of the routes.

“We want the contractors to give us demurrage because we need money to renovate our vehicles. They need to be prepared to carry heavy loads on treacherous routes,” said 45-year-old Nazar Mohammad, who owns eight tankers which carry oil for Nato. The vehicles need to be painted, get new tyres and have their engines fixed as they have been stationary for seven months. “If the contractors pay us our dues on time, we can be ready to get back to work within a week,” he said. Nazar Mohammad added that each tanker owner has lost about eight to nine million rupees over the seven months that the Nato supply was stopped. “We can recover our losses within six months if we get good security.”

Mir Mohammad Yousuf Shahwani, the chairman of All Pakistan Oil Tanker Owners Association, told The Express Tribune that he has reservations about drivers’ security and transportation fares.  “We need security and the transportation fares should be increased because of inflation. We should be given transportation charges in accordance with the advisory committee’s rates,” said Shahwani. He added that the association has not yet received any notification from the government regarding the reopening of the supply routes. Speaking about their vehicles he said, “We need to be paid demurrage by the contractors so that we can mend our vehicles.”

Khan Dil Khan Niazi, the chairperson of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Welfare Association, said, “Some of our vehicles will be ready to deliver the goods, but it will be a stupid move to go without proper security.” He said that he is writing to the home secretaries of all four provinces, asking them to provide fool-proof security to the trucks.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5^th, 2012.