KARACHI: Goods transporters have threatened to stage a nationwide strike once again after the government failed to redress their grievances.
Leaders of the United Goods Transporters Alliance (UGTA) have asked Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to instantly issue directives to the official committee to resolve transporters’ issues.
In a meeting, UGTA Chairman Ghulam Yaseen Khan expressed his disappointment over lack of progress in ending transporters problems. He also showed lack of trust over the committee assigned to sort out transporters’ problems relating to different departments of federal and provincial governments.
UGTA President Muhammad Khalid Khan, General Secretary Muhammad Shoaib Khan and others also flayed the Federal Board of Revenue for not honouring its commitments.
They said that FBR continues to collect advance tax from goods carriers at high rate of Rs5 per kg instead of Rs2 per kg as agreed earlier in a meeting with the finance minister at Governor House.
The transporters said that the National High Authority (NHA) has also not brought changes in the contract system of weighing bridges and these are still being run by the corrupt contractors who harass goods carriers. The Motorway Police too continues to impose heavy challans on goods carriers particularly car-carriers, they added.