A strike by lorry drivers at Pakistan's main port was in its second week on Monday as the tussle between the government and drivers' association kept goods traders concerned over the freeze in shipments. The traders estimate millions of dollars worth of perishable goods have been stranded by the strike.
The drivers complain the government is not serious over their rising costs and security problems.
"The strike is continuing. They (government) don't really bother about what is happening. The entire port is at a pause and containers are piling up everyday," Noor Khan Niazi, president of the Karachi Goods Carriers' Association, told Reuters.
Government and truck drivers association officials were meeting on Monday.
Port officials said they were not facing any problems of congestion at the moment as there was adequate storage space for the stranded containers.
Protesting drivers have put up picket lines on roads around the port and are not letting lorries through, traders said.
"Right now the traders and their businesses are suffering ... And eventually the public at large will also suffer," Younus Khamisani, former vice chairman of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industries, told Reuters. The government has been cutting subsidies on fuel as it struggles with widening budget deficits and inflation at a 30-year high.
The drivers complain the government is not serious over their rising costs and security problems.
"The strike is continuing. They (government) don't really bother about what is happening. The entire port is at a pause and containers are piling up everyday," Noor Khan Niazi, president of the Karachi Goods Carriers' Association, told Reuters.
Government and truck drivers association officials were meeting on Monday.
Port officials said they were not facing any problems of congestion at the moment as there was adequate storage space for the stranded containers.
Protesting drivers have put up picket lines on roads around the port and are not letting lorries through, traders said.
"Right now the traders and their businesses are suffering ... And eventually the public at large will also suffer," Younus Khamisani, former vice chairman of the North Karachi Association of Trade and Industries, told Reuters. The government has been cutting subsidies on fuel as it struggles with widening budget deficits and inflation at a 30-year high.