KARACHI, APR 19 /DNA/ – President of the United Business Group (UBG), Zubair Tufail, has expressed serious concern over the ongoing goods transporters’ strike, now in its fifth consecutive day at Karachi’s ports and container terminals. He said the strike is causing severe damage to the export sector, and that if the government had granted the transporters a six-month extension for vehicle fitness compliance, exporters and the national treasury could have avoided losses amounting to millions of dollars.
According to UBG’s central spokesperson Gulzar Firoz, President UBG Zubair Tufail pointed out that the disruption in consignment deliveries has not only led to a shortage of imported goods in the market, but the halt in the movement of hundreds of containers has also raised the risk of export items getting spoiled. Export goods are stuck in factories and warehouses, while imported containers remain in the custody of terminal operators and foreign shipping lines at the ports.
He emphasized that this situation is causing serious financial losses to the business community and having a negative impact on industrial output and the national economy.
Tufail further stated that the logistics and transportation system has been completely paralyzed, and import and export trade has been heavily disrupted, causing substantial economic damage. He urged Prime Minister Mian Shehbaz Sharif to intervene immediately, as freight movement across the country has come to a complete standstill. He warned that if export orders do not reach buyers on time, foreign customers may shift their orders to other countries.
Expressing disappointment, he said it is unfortunate that despite millions of dollars in losses, both the federal and provincial governments have failed to take proactive steps to resolve the crisis. Zubair Tufail demanded urgent action to end the transporters’ strike and called for the elimination of unfair demurrage and detention charges.=DNA
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