Transit trade: New contracts over NATO supplies to leave thousands jobless

Transporters threaten to strike if govt does not address issues by July 15.

PESHAWAR:

A new contract signed between the Federal Board of Revenue and private companies over the transportation of Nato supplies has posed problems for local truckers.

Earlier, goods bound for Afghanistan were moved to vehicles owned by locals upon reaching Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. However, new contracts state that only vehicles registered with companies will be allowed to carry the goods, depriving thousands of their jobs.

Khyber Trailers’ Drivers and Workers Union (KTDWU) President Jahanzaib Khan said in a press conference that the National Logistic Cell (NCL) previously had a contract to take the goods only from Karachi to Peshawar, after which local transporters would take them into Afghanistan.

Jahanzaib added that the new rules would lead to tremendous losses as hundreds of terminals, warehouses and cranes will no longer be of use. “Approximately 20,000 people in K-P, who were associated with the Nato transit trade, will be deprived of their jobs,” he said.

He further said that container owners registered with a private company cannot carry goods from another company. However, if a company does not have supplies to transport it could lease its containers to another company, at a higher price.

The NLC previously paid transporters Rs240,000 - Rs. 270,000 from Karachi to Peshawar and an additional Rs120,000 to Rs150,000 from Peshawar to the Torkham crossing on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The new fares have not yet been determined as many truckers have shown reservations in being involved in the process.

KTDWU general secretary Sikandar Hayat Khan said that there were new rules set by custom authorities at the Torkhan border. “The new rule means that 20 containers arriving at the border will be processed at once. If there are less than 20, they will have to wait till more arrive,” he said.

Hayat further said that it was unsafe because the road from Peshawar to Torkham was volatile and usually targeted by militants. Accidents and technical problems are also frequent on the road.

The truckers have demanded the government to address their problems by July 15 otherwise they will hold a strike and stop transporting goods.

Businessmen and truckers in K-P have directly benefitted from the Afghan transit trade and Nato supply routes by providing various services to those along the route. They provide warehouses, labour for loading and unloading goods and lease terminals to them on roadsides.

It is also common that edibles are brought to Peshawar from other parts of the country, and then taken onwards to Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 12^th, 2012.