The Pakistan Ship Agents Association (PSAA) has protested against requisition of containers by the Karachi police for blocking and cordoning of roads for security purposes, and said that such unilateral action is impending smooth flow of exports.
PSAA Secretary Mohammad Rajpar, in a fax message to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Sindh, Syed Kamal Shah, said that the containers were requisitioned without prior notice and compensation, creating problems in the smooth operation of the shipping lines, especially with respect to export cargoes.
He said that these actions by the police exacerbated the already existing shortage of empty containers.
Rajpar said that the economic boom had already begun from January and the first part of the year would experience a tremendous rise in the containerised exports from Pakistan.
Moreover, owing to quota abolition under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, strong exports from Pakistan were expected throughout the year. Therefore, the containers' availability with the shipping lines had become extremely important.
He requested the Sindh Police chief to direct the concerned officials to return all the containers to the respective shipping lines whose stocks were in serious deficit due to the current export boom and to desist from such actions in future.