QUETTA: After 41 people were killed in a accident last week, the Balochistan government has decided to reactivate trackers in buses plying between Quetta and Karachi to check their speed.

The decision was taken on Wednesday in a meeting chaired by the province’s transport secretary, Muhammad Siddiq Mandokhail.

It was decided that strict action would be taken against vehicles not complying with the directive to activate the tracking system. The permits of buses without a tracking system on the Karachi-Quetta route will be cancelled. It was also decided that speed limits would be enforced on all routes and Motorway Police would take strict action against speeding vehicles and cancel their licences.

Transporters go on strike to protest ‘atrocious attitude’ of Coast Guards

Meanwhile, owners of passenger coaches plying between Quetta and Karachi went on a strike for an indefinite period on Wednesday against what they called unnecessary checking and atrocities committed against drivers and passengers at Khari Check post in Hub district. They parked their vehicles in front of Coast Guards check posts on the Quetta-Karachi highway and announced they would not call off their strike until the check post was removed.

At a presser, office-bearers of the Quetta-Karachi Coaches Union said if their demands were not met, they would stop the bus service on the Quetta-Karachi and other routes.

Abdul Wahid Shahwani in Khuzdar also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2023