LAHORE: President of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance Malik Shahzad Awan has strongly reacted to the recent increase in petroleum product prices and announced a 20 percent increase in freight charges across the country.
Malik Shahzad Awan said that during the past two months, the price of diesel has increased by Rs78 per liter while petrol has gone up by Rs68 per liter, significantly raising the operational costs for transporters.
He stated that if the increase in petroleum prices has been made due to unavoidable circumstances, the federal government should reduce other taxes, including toll taxes, to provide some relief to the transport sector.
He added that despite the country’s fragile economic situation, transporters are continuing to facilitate import, export and other business activities. However, the continuous rise in petroleum prices not only affects transporters but also impacts every Pakistani, triggering a fresh wave of inflation.
Malik Shahzad Awan said that due to the wrong policies of the federal and Punjab governments, transporters had previously been forced to observe a nationwide strike for 10 days.
He said the agreements reached during the strike with Punjab Senior Minister Maryam Aurangzeb and Punjab Transport Minister Bilal Akbar have still not been implemented.
He further said that commitments made by Federal Minister for Communications Abdul Aleem Khan have also not been fulfilled so far.
The president of the Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance demanded that the federal, Punjab and Sindh governments immediately implement the agreements made with transporters.
Otherwise, if the policies are not reviewed, transport operations across Pakistan will be shut down and the federal government will bear full responsibility.
