June 26, 2007	Tuesday	Jamadi-us-Sani 10, 1428

LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), June 25: Oil contractors announced on Monday that they would resume supply to Afghanistan after failure of their negotiations with a local transporters’ union.

The All-Khyber Transporters’ Union disrupted oil supply to Afghanistan some two weeks back, demanding increase in fare to Kabul and compensation for oil tanker drivers who were affected by a series of bomb blasts.

Oil supply to Afghanistan has remained suspended as the union forcibly stopped tankers on the Peshawar-Torkham road.

A contractor from the Al Haaj Group associated with Attock Refinery expressed resentment over the forcible ban on vehicles and urged the transporters to end the strike, saying that it was causing loss of millions of rupees.

The two groups nearly clashed as the highway was blocked for several hours on Friday and they kidnapped each other’s supporters and impounded a number of vehicles. The clash was averted after the intervention of the local political administration, which constituted a jirga for the solution of the problem.

The jirga, including representatives of both the groups, met the political authorities at Khyber House on Monday but failed to resolve the issue.

A spokesman for the Al Haaj Group said it would resume supply on Tuesday.

He alleged that the transporters’ demands were unjustified as their fare and insurance money had been increased recently and the victims of bomb blasts were compensated.

He accused the transporters’ union of extorting money from tanker drivers and blackmailing the oil companies.

All Khyber Transporters’ Union president Shakir Afridi insisted that its demands were genuine. He accused the Al Haaj Group of depriving the oil tanker drivers of their hard earned money. He said at least two dozen vehicles had been destroyed in bomb attacks over the past two and a half months but none of the drivers received compensation.

He said the strike will continue till the acceptance of the union’s demands and no oil tanker would be allowed to go across Torkham.