ISLAMABAD: Rather than confiscate shipping containers to seal off the city during protests, as the police did in the past, the government is renting 500 containers that will be used to seal the capital and contain the flow of participants of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl’s (JUI-F) Azadi March.

The company providing the containers has said it won the tender to do so by submitting the lowest bid. According to the contract, the government will pay a daily rate to rent the containers and will be responsible for any damage or theft.

“Although I cannot share the per day rent of the containers since it is our business secret, I can say that all the containers are empty and can be checked by anyone. They have been placed in different places across the capital and will be there for an unlimited period. We will remove them the day we are directed by the police that the containers are not required anyone,” Rana Habibur Rehman, the owner of the logistics company M. Bilal Brothers, told Dawn.

Under agreement with contractor, govt will pay for any damage or theft of containers

He said the government floated a tender for required shipping containers and a number of companies filed bids.

“Our company has around 1,000 containers, of which 500 have been placed in the capital and the remaining are placed in various cities such as Peshawar and Lahore,” he said.

“Being a company, we have trailers, lifters and cranes, staff etc. We can place the containers anywhere in the city and shift them from one place to another. We are official contractors, so we can handle the situation comfortably and more professionally. Once the crowd is dispersed, we will remove the containers,” he added.

Mr Rehman said the containers are not insured, but under the agreement the government is responsible for paying for any damage or theft of the containers.

The Islamabad police confiscated a number of containers during PTI’s 2014 sit-in. At the time, trailer drivers protested and reached the PTI Secretariat in G-6; Imran Khan had expressed solidarity with them and condemned the confiscation of containers.

Deputed at a check-post on Faqir Aipee Road, Sabzi Mandi police official Muzaffar Ali said the police have not confiscated any containers this time.

“The government has arranged containers and all of them are empty. We are not forcing any trailer drivers to place containers,” he said.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police Headquarters Mohammad Saleem said the company was hired in June according to Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules.

“As per the agreement the per day rent of a large container will be Rs35,000 and for a small container Rs20,000. Although the company has been claiming that 500 containers have been placed in the capital, we have decided to mark all the containers because [if fewer containers are used] it will be a loss to the exchequer,” he said.

“We have not confiscated any containers and this time we have done everything as per the law,” he added.

Khurram Shahzad, an official with the logistics company in question who was on the Expressway near Iqbal Town, said he was deputed by the company to place containers in the limits of the Khanna police station.

“However, we are hearing that some containers were also confiscated by the authorities,” he said.

“The police station’s muharrar directs us from time to time to place containers at different locations, and we have been directed by the company to follow the directions,” he added.

Muzammil Shah, who was driving a trailer on which a shipping container was placed, told Dawn he would move with the containers.

“I belong to Mianwali and I have a family, but I am not worried because the company will pay me my salary even if I remain in the capital for weeks,” he said.

Another driver, Kashif Hafeez from Toba Tek Singh, said drivers spend most of their time on the road so he was not worried about staying there.

“We even sleep on the dusty ground; here at least there is grass throughout the city,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2019