QUETTA: The Balochistan Goods Truck Owners Association has announced a complete strike on the loading and transportation of minerals across the province, citing severe financial losses due to targeted attacks on vehicles and a lack of government security.

The announcement was made by the association’s president, Haji Noor Muhammad Shahwani, during a press conference at the Quetta Press Club on Tuesday.

Shahwani said that trucks transporting valuable minerals such as chromite and marble have been repeatedly targeted on national highways. He alleged that insurgents or other militants have been burning vehicles and damaging tyres, causing losses worth millions of rupees to the transport sector.

“Transporting minerals in Balochistan has become a torment,” Shahwani said. “Neither the provincial government nor mine owners and contractors are cooperating with us or compensating us for our immense financial losses.”

According to the association, recent attacks were reported across multiple districts, including Mastung, Kharan, Washuk, and Khuzdar.

In these incidents, nearly a dozen trucks were targeted; eight vehicles were completely torched, while the remaining suffered severe tyre and body damage, the association added.

The association unanimously decided that no truck will load chromite or marble from key mining hubs, including Dalbandin, Naukundi, Muslim Bagh, and Loralai.

Shahwani warned that any company or truck owner who violates the strike decision and chooses to transport minerals would be solely responsible for any resulting losses. However, he clarified that the transportation of food items and general cargo will continue uninterrupted.

Published in Dawn, May 20th, 2026