The transporters, like previous strikes, put forward 17 demands out of which 12 have already been met by the government. PHOTO: AFP/ FILE
KARACHI: The transporters strike that has ground economic activities to a halt for over six-days is expected to end soon after the intervention of the Prime Minister’s office late Wednesday.
“I have just talked to Prime Minister’s office and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and they have assured me that they will immediately intervene in the matter,” President Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Abdullah Zaki, told The Express Tribune. “I hope this strike will end within next two days.”
Our seaports are jammed with 8,000 containers while over 3,500 ready-to-export containers are stuck at factories, he added.
The transporters say that the government and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have accepted most of their demands. However, the FBR has not issued any circular on the new agreed terms which is one of the reasons why this strike has stretched too long.
The Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has also agreed to give land to the transporters to park their vehicles.
“We are waiting for a notification from the FBR,” said Chairman United Goods Transporters Alliance, Ghulam Yaseen Khan, who is heading one of the many transporters’ associations taking part in the strike.
The transporters are also demanding the release of compensation money of Rs260 million for those transporters who lost their vehicles in arson incidents that were reported in different parts of the country after the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
However, FBR spokesperson Shahid Hussain Asad said that FBR had accepted the demands of transporters a few days ago. But, he said that the notification of the agreed terms would be issued next week because of the holidays of 9th and 10th Moharram.
“We have assured them that FBR would issue the notification as soon as possible but it will take time as we have to follow certain procedure that takes at least 4-5 days,” said Asad.
The transporters, like previous strikes, put forward 17 demands out of which 12 have already been met by the government.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 14th, 2013.
Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ