PM orders action plan to check harassment of transporters by officials

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday, taking serious notice of the incidents of harassment of transporters by officials, directed to formulate a comprehensive  plan of action for strict action.

The prime minister stated this while chairing a high-level meeting on the  issue of implementation of National Highways Safety Ordinance 2000, the reservations of stakeholders and future course of action regarding the  implementation of the law.

The Prime Minister stated that the implementation of National Highways  Safety Ordinance 2000 would help in ensuring roads safety. However, he  said the concerns of stakeholders, condition of roads, the capacity of modes  of transportation, i.e cargo trucks and freight trains, and most importantly the  impact of implementation of legislation on common man, must be given due consideration.

He stressed that insufficient modes of transportation and the state of country's economy essentially required that before immediate enforcement of the law, it must be ensured that the implementation of the law does not adversely impact industry  and the people.

The Prime Minister directed all the facts should be placed before the Honorable Courts for pleading a phased implementation of the law. Simultaneously, increasing the number of cargo trucks and enhancement of capacity of Pakistan Railways  should also be focused.    The meeting was attended by Minister for Communications Murad Saeed,  Advisor on Commerce Abdul Razzaq Dawood and senior officials from the  Ministries of Communications and Commerce.

The progress made so far on the implementation of National Highways   Safety Ordinance 2000, the reservations of the stakeholders regarding  the axle load and the orders of the courts were discussed during the  meeting.

Secretary Communications Jawad Rafiq Malik, briefed the meeting on  the progress made so far regarding the implementation of National Highways  Safety Ordinance 2000, the current condition of road infrastructure and the  current state of modes of transportation  including the availability of cargo  trucks, the capacity of freight trains of Pakistan Railways to handle dispatch  of consignments.

The economic impact of  the enforcement of law relating to axle load and  the reservations of the concerned stakeholders were also highlighted by  Secretary Communications.

The Prime Minister was informed that National Highway Authority incurs  an annual expenditure of Rs. 65 billion on the maintenance of roads, damaged  as a result of overloading. The excess load on the trucks does not only result  in the damage of roads but also is a major factor for road accidents causing  loss of valuable lives.

The meeting also discussed in detail the problems being faced by the  transporters, particularly the issues of corruption/bribes and harassment  by the officials.