KARACHI, Feb 11: The Karachi Transport Ittehad has warned that a two-day strike would be observed on Feb 24 and 25, if the prices of diesel were not reduced to the level of Nov 30, 2004.

In a press release issued here on Friday, Karachi Transport Ittehad President Irshad Hussain Bukhari expressed his surprise over the press conference of federal minister for petroleum Ammanullah Jadoon.

He said though the minister had conceded that the government was paying Rs20 per litre of petrol in Karachi, but he did not clarify at what rate the government was getting the diesel.

He said that heavy passenger and goods vehicle ran on diesel. He further said that if it was true that the government was getting petrol at Rs20 per litre, it was a gross injustice to get a profit of Rs22.39 on every litre of petrol.

Irshad Bukhari said that the rising prices of diesel had pushed the transport business at the verge of total collapse. He said, "By calling a two-day strike, we are trying to pacify the transporters while the real fact was that the owners of buses, minibuses, trucks and tankers would have to keep their vehicles themselves off the road due to rising oil prices."

The KTI president welcomed the call of a seven-day nation wide strike given by the Supreme Council of Pakistan Transporters, Oil Tankers' Associations and Oil Tankers Contractor Association. He disclosed that the KTI was also trying to invite transporters of other provinces for their participation in its two-day strike on Feb 24-25. -PPI