KARACHI, Nov 3: A nine-member delegation of Karachi Transport Ittehad, led by Irshad Hussain Bukhari, met with the provincial transport secretary, Raja Muhammad Abbas, in his office on Saturday.
The delegation remained with him for some time and apprised their problems, including overloading, partition of ladies compartment, frequent Challans, payment of vehicles during election days, route permits, etc.
The transport secretary gave them a patient hearing and assured that all genuine issues would be redressed according to law.
The transporters thanked the government for resolving their issues and also called off the strike for Nov 5.
During the meeting, DCO Karachi, Shafiqur Rehman Paracha; DIG Traffic and Highways, Muhammad Yamin Khan; EDO Transport, Malik Zaheer-ul-Islam and Deputy Secretary Transport, M. Nawaz Naseem were also present.
The delegation members included Malik Khalid Awan, Malik Tahmas, Pir Burhanuddin, Fazal Karim Jadoon, Jamal Hassan Zai, Said Badshah, Tawab Khan, Said Mehmood Afridi and Hashim Khan.
KTF: Karachi Transport Federation has supported the demands made by the owners of special coaches and mini-buses, but also announced its disassociation with the strike call for Nov 5.
We support the demands and urge the government to take appropriate steps for ending the prevailing unrest among transporters, said Salim Khan Bangash, Hafizul Haque Hassan Zai, Nazir Hussain Atman Zai, Arshad Khan and other KTF leaders in a joint statement on Saturday.
“There will be no wheel-jam strike and public transport will ply as usual,” they added.
They said that contacts have also been made with the Sindh government and local administration and it is expected that their problems would be resolved.
The KTF leaders categorically stated that they will not bring down existing fares, putting forth the condition that the government should first bring down fuel prices back to what they were before June 13.—PPI
