KARACHI, March 4: Karachi Transport Ittehad (KTI), an association of 15 transport bodies, on Friday said that the two-day wheel jam strike on March 14 and 15, 2005 would not be called off at any cost.

In a statement issue here, President KTI Syed Irshad Hussain Bokhari, General Secretary Malik Khalid Hussain and other office-bearers alleged that the hike in petroleum products announced on Feb 28 had indicated the government's future plans.

Accusing the government of hypocrisy they said that on one hand the government was trying to destroy transporters' business through Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC), on the other hand Karachi traffic police had started 'illegal challans' of their vehicles, making it difficult for them to continue their business.

The KTI leaders deplored that none of their demands being forwarded in the meeting of Feb 22 with DIG traffic police, were met. They said that transporters had decided that after the two-day wheel jam, another strike call against traffic police would be announced.

The Supreme Council of All-Pakistan Transporters on Friday endorsed the strike call given by the KTI and also announced to observe a two-day countrywide strike on March 21 and 22 against the increasing fuel prices.

This was decided in an emergency meeting of the Supreme Council of All-Pakistan Transporters. They appealed to the transporters community to make the strike call a big success. -PPI