NOWSHERA: The wheel-jam strike of the All Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Goods Transport Association continued for the second consecutive day in Nowshera on Sunday, with long queues of goods vehicles seen at the Khairabad point.
Transporters set up a protest camp at Khairabad and demanded immediate acceptance of their demands by the government. Provincial president of the association, Sikandar Khan, and provincial general secretary Haji Atlas Khan said the strike would continue until their demands were met.
Speaking to the media at the protest camp, the transporters’ leaders said they had presented a number of demands to the government for resolution of problems confronting the goods transport sector, but no practical progress had been made so far.
They said their key demands included an end to daily fluctuations in diesel prices and restoration of toll taxes according to the schedule in effect on June 30, 2024.
The transporters also demanded that withholding tax be reduced to two per cent and recent increases in token tax, permits and fitness fees be withdrawn immediately. They said repeated increases in taxes and various fees had substantially increased their operating costs and made the transport business increasingly difficult.
The transporters also called for a review of heavy fines imposed for minor violations, as well as penalties for overloading and other enforcement measures.
They further demanded an end to what they alleged was harassment by Customs, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Excise Department in the name of checking. The leaders said frequent actions by various government departments had created serious difficulties for the goods transport sector.
The protesters warned that if the government failed to address their grievances, they would intensify their protest in the next phase. They said major highways across the country would be blocked and goods transporters would launch a long march from Karachi to Islamabad, where they would stage a sit-in outside Parliament.
The transporters’ leaders urged the government to take immediate steps to resolve their issues and avert further disruption to goods transportation across the country.
