Transporters hold firm as talks to resolve strike continue |
KARACHI: Amid negotiations between goods transporters and government departments to resolve a nationwide strike that has entered its 10th day, industrialists warned on Tuesday that each passing day was adding billions of rupees in trade and export losses.
Transporters said talks were underway with representatives of the federal and Punjab governments and relevant departments, including the ministries of ports and shipping and communications, the motorway police, the National Highway Authority (NHA) and senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Customs. They claimed the federal and Punjab governments had acknowledged that their demands were justified.
The negotiations were continuing late into the night and were ongoing at the time of going to press, officials said.
Earlier, transporters said the strike would continue until their demands were accepted. The Transporters’ Goods Association (TGA) also told a Sindh government committee at the Commissioner’s Office in Karachi that the shutdown would remain in place until issues raised in its charter of demands were addressed. The demands include designated parking for goods carriers near Karachi Port Trust (KPT), and matters related to licensing and the plying of 25- to 30-year-old........