Cargo has begun piling up at Pakistan’s main port in Karachi as transporters avoid travelling north over fears their trucks and shipping containers could be seized by authorities ahead of a planned march by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
According to Reuters, police requisitioned more than 2,000 vehicles in September as authorities prepared to restrict access to Islamabad ahead of the PTI march scheduled for Oct. 4.
Shipping containers, some packed with sand and welded together, have been positioned along roads leading into the capital to be used as barricades.
The planned protest is demanding the release of Khan, who has been imprisoned since 2023.
Transporters said fears of vehicles being seized have prompted some drivers to stop travelling towards Punjab and Islamabad, resulting in containers accumulating in Karachi and disrupting the movement of goods.
The disruption has affected routes to Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Jhelum, Peshawar and Attock, while some operators have stopped journeys beyond Gujranwala or switched to alternative routes.
Transport industry representatives said the financial impact was also mounting, with demurrage charges for a seized container potentially reaching 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani rupees, or about $110 to $150, per day.
Transporters said the costs come on top of losses caused by delayed deliveries, idle trucks and payments owed to international shipping companies.
Pakistan’s home, information, commerce and finance ministries, as well as Punjab Police and the provincial home department, did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. (Newswire)
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