February 18, 2008	Monday	Safar 10, 1429

PESHAWAR, Feb 17: Transporters on Sunday threatened to go on a wheeljam strike to protest against impounding of hundreds of public transport vehicles, and arrest of transport operators in the NWFP and the Punjab.

They said if the government failed to pay the charges to them for the election duty they would stage protest demonstrations, observe hunger and wheel jam strikes to press for their demands.

Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club here on Sunday, president of Sarhad Transport Owners Confederation Mohammad Zahir Shah Yousufzai and general secretary Sher Ali

Khan said that at least 500 public transport vehicles had been impounded only in Peshawar.

They condemned the traffic police for manhandling the drivers who refused to give documents and licenses.

They said the inter-city buses were also not spared and had been impounded on way to Lahore, Rawalpindi, Karachi and other cities and the passengers were forcefully disembarked halfway.

In the past, they said the officials used to contact the transporters for hiring the vehicles but this time the vehicles were impounded four days ahead of the polling day and that also without intimation to the owners.