Over 5,000 inflammable containers seized countrywide

LAHORE: The provincial administration, national highways authority, customs and other law-enforcement agencies started seizing the food items for exports containers and highly inflammable chemicals containers across the province without thinking of any consequences in case of these inflammable chemicals containers caused any untoward incident.

Almost over 5,000 containers were seized by the authorities across the country, out of which 2000 in Punjab, 1500 each in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, 700 and above alone in Pindi and activity of seizing the containers continued. As a result, truck and containers companies are now holding their containers and trailers at their stations (Addas) to avoid confiscation by the government authorities. The government is seizing these carrying export- orientated containers to block roads for countering the movement of participants of the JUI-F Azadi March to Islamabad.

Goods Transport Association General Secretary Nabeel Tariq Mehmood while talking to The News said even the containers carrying the consignments of famous brands like Nike, Adidas and Levi’s were also seized by the authorities putting the country’s name at stake. Pakistan is already suffering on export count and it is already in trade deficit.

Nabeel Tariq believed that in coming days, domestic supply side will also going to affect due to this trucks, trailers and containers seizing exercise of the government. The companies parking their containers and trailers at their bay to avoid confiscation which will going to affect the overall supply chain of the country and exports as well. These trailers bound to Karachi port for exports purposes were halted and the exporters if choose the alternate air cargo option for exports then it increases the cost of shipment 10 times, he observed. “If one shipment moves by sea will cost Rs1 million, the same shipment cost will be Rs10 million by air,” Nabeel said.

“We have given 24 hours deadline to the government to release all seized trailers, trucks and containers or otherwise the association will lockdown the major cities,” he added.

On inflammable containers, Nabeel said a large number of containers carrying highly-inflammable chemicals were also seized in different parts of the country which could result in any untoward incident if these are used for road-blocks and marchers attempted to remove them by force. Nobody knows what is inside the containers and government will use force to stop the march while the marchers will also react that could result in any unforeseen tragic incident and no one will take responsibility for this.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tanners Association (Northern Zone) Chairman Fazal-ur-Rehman Shaikh approached Punjab Commerce Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal and provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat to apprise them of the repercussions of seizing containers which are meant for the movement of exportable goods to and from Punjab to Karachi port.

Shaikh apprised the authorities that this act of government is causing great suffering to the export business and many containers loaded with leather and exportable materials have been stuck up. Export businesses, including the leather, highly depend on these containers as most of our export and import shipments to and from Karachi port are not possible without these carriages, he added. Therefore, any hurdle in the smooth running of these containers could result in a big loss to the export business. He cautioned for the immediate intervention of law-enforcing agencies, commerce and interior ministries of Punjab to stop seizing export containers otherwise the exporters could incur millions of dollars loss of export orders in addition to bringing bad name to the country internationally.