KARACHI, Jan 21: Transporters have warned the government that if the prices of diesel and petrol are not lowered by Rs12 and Rs11 respectively, they would go on a countrywide wheeljam strike after the 10th of Muharram.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, Karachi Transport Ittehad leaders Irshad Bokhari and Mahmood Afridi said that though the oil prices had gone down by over 33 per cent in the international market, the government had cut the prices just by Re1 and Rs4 for diesel and petrol respectively.

They said that almost all commercial vehicles operated on diesel and the unrealistic reduction of Re1 in its prices was unacceptable. They said that the international prices had come to that figure when the prices of the diesel and petrol in the country were Rs29 and Rs45 respectively. So, they demanded, the prices be fixed realistically.