QUETTA: Carrying the body of a driver murdered by gunmen, truck drivers involved in the Afghan Transit Trade (ATT) held a demonstration outside the press club on Monday.
They raised slogans against the provincial government and law-enforcement agencies.
Talking to reporters, All Balochistan Goods Transport Association president Noor Mohammad Shahwani said that several drivers had been killed and their vehicles set on fire over the past two months between Jacobabad and Quetta.
He identified the driver whose body the protesters carried as Raza Mohammad. Raza had to enter Afghanistan via Chaman border. Unidentified men shot him dead in Gahi Chowk area on the outskirts of Quetta and set his truck on fire.
Mr Shahwani said two other drivers were killed in Dera Murad Jamali on Saturday.
He said killings of drivers and attacks on their vehicles had created a sense of fear among drivers. He urged the government to take action against elements involved in such attacks otherwise the drivers would stop carrying goods for Afghanistan.
Mr Shahwani explained that the ATT had nothing to do with supplies for Nato forces in Afghanistan.
“We do not transport fuel and other goods for Nato forces.” He said the government should take immediate steps for the protection of truck drivers.
Meanwhile, a delegation of All Balochistan Goods Transport Association met Chief Minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and apprised him about their problems.
The chief minister assured the delegation that the government would take measures for the security of truck drivers.
Published in Dawn, September 2nd , 2014
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