All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association (APGTOA) on Tuesday vowed to continue their ongoing wheel-jam strike after their talks with the authorities ended without any breakthrough.
Goods transporters launched an indefinite nationwide strike on Saturday against rising fuel costs, daily diesel price adjustments and a range of taxation and regulatory measures they say are increasing the burden on the transport sector.
In its declaration, the APGTOA’s Awais Chaudhry said that their wheel-jam strike would continue until the authorities accept their demands.
Talking about their negotiations with the authorities, Chaudhry said that Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan assured the solution of transporters’ problems.
He maintained that the talks could not reach a breakthrough, adding that the transporters would not give up their legitimate and legal demands under any circumstances.
“We are ready to continue the negotiations with the government,” he added.
The transporters said that their strike would continue until the demands are practically accepted.
Meanwhile, sources privy to the matter said that the government had agreed in principle not to increase toll taxes for one year during the fourth round of talks.
It was also decided that the authorities would not increase the prices of petroleum products for one to two weeks.
Meanwhile, sources privy to the matter claimed that a decision was made in principle not to increase toll tax for one year during the fourth round of talks.
There was also an agreement not to increase the prices of petroleum products for a week or 15 days, the sources added.
Transporters call for reduction in taxes
Speaking to Geo News on August 8, All Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance President Malik Shehzad Awan had said freight operators had suspended services nationwide and would continue the strike until further notice.
The federal government, he had said, had invited representatives of the alliance for talks on Monday in an effort to resolve the dispute.
Awan had added that earlier negotiations between transporters and government representatives at the Commissioner’s Office had failed to produce a breakthrough.
Among their key demands, the transporters had called for a reduction in taxes on diesel and sought the restoration of fuel prices to their July 1, 2024 level.
Opposing the daily adjustment of diesel prices, the transporters demanded that fuel prices be revised on a fortnightly or monthly basis to provide better predictability for transport operators.
The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) now publishes daily fuel prices on its website, while rates are determined using a seven-day average of international benchmark prices, according to Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik.
The government adopted the daily review mechanism following heightened volatility in international oil markets linked to tensions in the Middle East.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
