By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: Pakistan’s largest goods transport alliance called off a nine-day nationwide strike on Sunday, agreeing to a 40-day pause after the federal and Sindh governments offered concessions on fuel pricing, toll taxes and vehicle load limits that had brought cargo movement across the country to a standstill.
Malik Shehbaz Awan, president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Ittehad, told a joint press conference in Karachi that authorities had agreed to move away from daily adjustments to petrol and diesel prices — one of the transporters’ central grievances — toward a fortnightly or monthly schedule. The government had asked for 15 days to formalize the change, he said.
“We are not ending the strike — we are postponing it,” Awan said, adding that the alliance would resume its protest if the commitments made Sunday were not honored.
The wheel-jam strike began Aug. 8 after talks between transporters and government officials broke down over fuel pricing and a string of other demands, halting the movement of goods across Pakistan’s road network for more than a week. A fresh round of negotiations at the Governor House in Karachi on Sunday produced the breakthrough, following a Tuesday session that had ended without agreement.
Awan appeared alongside Sindh Governor Nihal Hashmi, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan to announce the terms. He said some of the alliance’s demands had been resolved immediately, while others requiring cabinet-level approval had been given a 15- to 20-day timeline, with committees set up to track progress.
Minister Khan said the government would form a separate committee to review and reduce toll taxes, and confirmed that 10-wheel trucks would be permitted to carry higher, more appropriate weight limits — addressing another of the transporters’ longstanding complaints about axle-load enforcement. Awan said the alliance had been assured that overloading rules would now be enforced uniformly under existing axle-load law.
On withholding tax, which transporters have said adds to the financial strain on the sector, Awan said the communications minister had committed to raising the matter with the finance minister, with a dedicated committee to be formed to resolve it.
The Sindh government separately pledged to relocate transporters’ operations to a new truck stand within a year and to resolve a long-running dispute over parking, according to Awan. He said six of the alliance’s eight demands directed at the Punjab government had also been accepted, with committees formed to address the remaining two.
Governor Hashmi described the outcome as a case of both sides “generously” accommodating each other’s positions, framing the resolution against what he called an extraordinary regional and economic backdrop. He said the economic fallout from the current conflict was being felt in Pakistan and globally, and that the prime minister and the field marshal were working to ensure the public felt the benefit of recent developments. “Both sides agreed that they are ready to make every sacrifice for the country,” he said.
Khan said the government had made progress on many of the transporters’ issues and that committees would continue working through those still outstanding. “Some issues will take time to resolve, and committees have been formed to address them,” he said, adding that he expected the remaining matters to be settled soon. “We will continue with the same spirit that is being demonstrated for Pakistan.”
Awan said the strike had remained peaceful throughout its nine days and had not been called off anywhere during that period. He said the alliance’s 50-member committee had organized the action and that consultations between the government and transporters’ committees would continue in the weeks ahead.
Among the transporters’ core demands: uniform enforcement of axle-load limits nationwide, permission for 10-wheel vehicles to carry up to 35 tonnes, lower diesel prices and toll taxes, relief on withholding tax, and the withdrawal of customs provisions the alliance says allow authorities to confiscate vehicles over alleged violations. The group has also pushed for the removal of the Punjab Highway Patrol’s power to issue challans to commercial vehicles, an end to what it calls excessive fines and unnecessary challans on motorways and highways, and easier issuance of heavy transport vehicle licenses.
The strike’s suspension offers at least a temporary reprieve for a logistics sector that underpins the movement of goods across Pakistan, though the 40-day window leaves open the possibility of renewed disruption if the government fails to deliver on commitments made Sunday.
Goods transporters suspend strike for 40 days after government concedes fuel pricing
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