PESHAWAR, Nov 8: Truckers continued their strike for the second consecutive day on Friday to protest against an increase in petroleum prices and taxes imposed by the local governments.

Witnesses told Dawn that on the call of the All Pakistan Truckowners Association, the Peshawar Goods Carrier Association had observed the strike and held a protest demonstration in front of the truck-stand.

As they held the demonstration, the truckowners and drivers blocked the road. The Chamkani police arrived at the spot and tried to convince the protesters to end the block. On refusal, the police resorted to baton charge and used teargas to disperse them, witnesses said.

Five people suffered injuries during the police action, who were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital and discharged after the first-aid, witnesses said.

Attaullah, a goods transport company owner, said it had become difficult for transporters to continue their business after the “massive” increase in the petroleum prices and heavy toll and other taxes.

He criticized the Oil Companies Advisory Committee for increasing the prices every fortnight. He said the local government of various districts, by levying toll taxes, had made the goods transport business even more difficult to continue.

He pointed out that the government had recently increased the income tax from Rs1,047 to Rs4,750 on every truck.

“We have to pay that amount after every three months which is injustice,” he complained.

Sources in Pabbi said that the police had arrested the president of the All Pakistan Truckowners Association, Khwaja Mohammad Khan, and other activists on Thursday after they refused to end their strike.

They informed that the APTA activists had parked trucks along the road from the main bazaar to the Pubbi railways station. At 12:30pm, the Nowshera SP held talks with the APTA president and requested him to end the strike. When he refused, the police arrested the APTA leaders.

Those arrested were: Khwaja Mohammad Khan, Daud Khan, Ibrahim Khan, Rizwan Khan, Mohammad Tariq, Shaukat, and others. They were kept at the Pubbi police station.

Earlier, in a speech, the APTA president declared that the strike would continue till the government accepted their genuine demands.

He alleged that the Central Board of Revenue authorities had created a misunderstanding between the government and the truckowners.

He demanded of the government to announce tax exemption on vehicles older than 10 years. He claimed that the district Nazims received toll taxes unlawfully to run their local governments.

Our Dera Ismail Khan correspondent adds: Dera Goods Transport Association (DGTA) has joined in the wheel-jam strike being observed on the Central Goods Transport Association’s call.

On the third day of the strike, a big demonstration march was held all the way from the DGTA office on Bannu Road to Qureshi Mor.

Heavy-duty vehicles, including tractors, trucks and tankers coming from other parts of the country, also joined this strike.

Central Goods Transport Association had given the strike call against the price hike in diesel, imposition of various taxes on vehicles, including income tax, toll tax, toll plaza tax and the high handedness of police.

Allah Nawaz Babar, president DGTA, on the occasion lashed out at government policies saying that the goods transport was like the backbone on the national economy, but has always been victimized by every government in the past.