ISLAMABAD: At a time when Pakistan’s exports have recorded negative growth for four consecutive months, a nationwide cargo transporter’s strike has entered its fifth day and exporters fear that this prolonged strike will obstruct the movement of goods to ports for shipment.

The strike, announced for an indefinite period, is in response to the Punjab and Sindh governments’ decision to ban older cargo trucks and trailers from operating in their provinces. The goods transporter’s nationwide strike has severely disrupted the entire supply chains across the country.

Exporters have appealed to the Punjab government for a relaxation in the enforcement of the new transport regulations. However, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, in a post on her official X account, reaffirmed that the law would be strictly implemented. Following this firm stance, Punjab’s traffic police have reportedly begun arresting drivers operating ageing cargo vehicles.

The standoff between the provincial governments and cargo transporters has escalated into a nationwide logistics crisis. For the past five days, thousands of inbound and outbound consignments have remained stranded across the country, severely disrupting trade and supply chains.

Urge Punjab govt to relax enforcement of new transport regulations

Pakistan’s average monthly textile exports stand at $1.5 billion, translating to roughly $50 million per day. With the cargo strike now in its fifth day, the textile sector alone could have lost around $250 million in export revenue, Patron-in-Chief, Pakistan Textile Exporters Association Khurram Mukhtar told Dawn.

However, he said that the disruption to the broader supply chain — impacting raw material movement, industrial production, and port operations — suggested that the overall economic losses were significantly higher, affecting multiple sectors nationwide.

It is worth mentioning that the nationwide transporters’ has brought Pakistan’s export manufacturing sector to a halt. The complete breakdown of inbound and outbound logistics has severely disrupted production cycles, delayed shipments, and paralysed the entire supply chain of export-oriented industries.

Mr Mukhtar said thousands of export containers remained stranded across the country, resulting in massive demurrage charges, missed vessel sailings, production halts, and a rapidly increasing risk of international order cancellations. “This situation is causing irreparable damage to Pakistan’s reputation as a reliable sourcing destination and poses a direct threat to our already fragile economic stability,” he added.

The chairman said that the export sector, already facing unprecedented challenges in the form of high energy tariffs, liquidity constraints due to delayed refunds, and mounting cost pressures, cannot withstand this paralysis any longer. Immediate government intervention is imperative to restore transport operations and prevent further deterioration of industrial activity, he added.

“I strongly urge the government and all concerned authorities to take urgent notice and engage all stakeholders to find an immediate and lasting resolution to this crisis, he said, adding that every passing hour was adding to the financial losses of exporters and undermining the livelihoods of millions dependent on the export value chain.

A senior customs officer at the Karachi exports collectorate told Dawn that the majority of export containers were being directly loaded onto ships at the Karachi Port and Port Qasim without delay. He noted that around 87 percent of export consignments had been cleared through the green channel, meaning that once the goods declarations (GDs) were filed, shipments moved directly to the vessels.

“There is no issue on the customs side,” he said, downplaying concerns over delays caused by the ongoing cargo transport strike.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association Chairman Kamran Arshad also wrote a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz to look into the challenges being faced by the industry in general and exporters in particular due to the strike since December 8, 2025.

“This strike has critically impacted import and export operations, which are the backbone of the country’s economy,” he said, adding that due to the strike, hundreds of cargo vehicles were stranded across Punjab awaiting road clearance.

He further said that it was causing abnormal delays in goods movement, resulting in heavy demurrage, detention charges, missing scheduled vessels, and production shutdowns due to the non-availability of raw materials and the inability to dispatch finished goods.

The continued disruption poses a serious risk of order cancellation of export orders by international buyers, which would have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan’s foreign exchange earnings, the chairman further said.

He urged the CM to intervene for an immediate resolution of the strike and ensure restoration of unhindered goods movement throughout the province to facilitate stable and predictable logistic conditions to support smooth flow of export goods.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2025