• The complaint ports are paralyzed, thousands of stuck containers, perishable pudding
• Transporters seek the grace period to implement the new regulations of the Sindh government
Karachi: The country’s logistics and transport system has stopped as the transporters of national goods entered their fourth day on Friday, interrupting commercial operations, paralyzing supply chains and giving a new blow to the fragile economy of the country.
Meanwhile, a Karachi Port Trust (KPT) spokesman said that the port operation has so far remained normal, but can see some impact from Monday in case the strike is extended.
According to the reports, the strike, triggered by the application of the Sindh government of the new regulations for physical conditioning of vehicles, has left thousands of containers stranded in ports and warehouses, causing a generalized concern between exporters and importers.
The provincial government introduced physical conditioning regulations of stricter vehicles in response to an increase in traffic accidents in Karachi. The city has witnessed an alarming increase in fatal collisions, particularly that they involve dumpeters and water tankers.
The president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Muhammad, Jawan Bilwani has made an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, asking for an immediate and decisive intervention to resolve the strike of transporters nationwide.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister on Friday, he expressed a serious concern about the paralysis of the load movement throughout the country.
“Export shipments remain stuck in factories and warehouses, while import containers are stranded in the port terminals in custody of terminal operators and foreign transport lines,” he said. “This interruption is inflicting great financial losses in the business community and creating a waterfall effect on industrial productivity and national economic stability.”
“On the import side, the inability to move containers is to suffocate supply chains, delay production and push industries into operational chaos,” he said.
Bilwani also highlighted the load of the increase in delays and detention charges imposed by the port authorities and foreign lines.
When addressing the impact on perishable exports, he warned of an imminent catastrophe. Due to the current interruption, fresh products can rot, shipments are being rejected abroad and exporters are incurring devastating losses. “This crisis not only threatens the agricultural economy, but also damages our long -term reputation in international markets,” he warned.
Mr. Bilwani asked the prime minister to immediately take all interested parties to the negotiating table. “Many exporters are now forced to change the air load, which is significantly more expensive,” he said.
’20, 000 clogged containers’
Muhammad Younga Soomro, former vice president of the KCCI, said the situation in the ports had become alarming.
All terminal operators generally clear an average of 5,000 containers daily, both import and export. “Due to the ongoing carriers strike, more than 20,000 containers are now stuck,” he said.
He said transporters are protesting the newly forced regulations that they consider excessively strict. The Government has begun to cancel the truck registration that originally registered since 1975.
The carriers of goods also made a demonstration outside the Customs House. The Minister of Local Bodies of Sindh, Saeed Ghani, held conversations with the protesters and asked them to leave the strike, but the transporters clearly said that they would continue their protest until their demands are met.
In a letter to Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah, President Transporters of Goods Association (TGA) Tariq Gujjar said that complying with the new requirements to that brief notice was unfeasible and urged the government to grant a six -month grace period.
Posted in Dawn, April 19, 2025
