Pakistani transporters say authorities seized trucks — Dawn
In Pakistan, freight transporters said that authorities are seizing their trucks and containers to prevent protesters from reaching Islamabad. Industry representatives claim that such actions are paralyzing the economy and exacerbating their long-standing grievances against the state, Dawn reports.
According to transporters' estimates, the country's logistics network includes around 400,000 freight vehicles, excluding tankers and small trucks. They say this transport serves key industrial sectors and provides millions of direct and indirect jobs.
Transporters' grievances
Imdad Hussain Naqvi, president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association, said that trucks and containers were seized two weeks before the march planned for September 27. According to him, transporters serve more than 30 million people daily, yet the sector remains the government's lowest priority.
Association representatives complained about unfair taxes, regular vehicle seizures, poor road conditions, excessive fines, delays in issuing provincial route permits, as well as alleged abuses by police and regional transport authorities. Naqvi also claims that 90% of truck drivers hold light-vehicle licences because of the complicated procedure for obtaining a heavy-vehicle licence.
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Muhammad Rafiq Khan, president of another industry association, said that weigh station workers allegedly allow trucks to be overloaded in exchange for bribes. Malik Shafaullah Awan, chairman of the Transport Alliance, said that the toll for a truck travelling on the N-5 highway between Karachi and Lahore amounts to 35,000 Pakistani rupees, excluding the petroleum levy included in the price of diesel.
Position of police and the road authority
A representative of the motorway police denied most of the transporters' accusations. According to him, since January 2026, law enforcement officers have identified, checked and processed in accordance with the law more than 7 million violations committed by freight transport. About 692,225 of these concerned exceeding the permissible axle load.
Police also said that the licensing mechanism for heavy-vehicle drivers is established by the NHMP Drivers Licensing Authority Rules 2014. At the same time, the National Highway Authority acknowledged poor road conditions due to a lack of funding. According to the authority's general manager, Aftab Badar, the agency oversees 14,480 kilometres of roads, received 128 billion rupees from tolls last year and 9 billion rupees from the government for road maintenance.
