Transporters across Punjab brought the province to a standstill on Monday as they launched a wheel-jam strike against the newly introduced Motor Vehicle Ordinance 2025, which they say has led to excessive fines and a surge in FIRs registered against drivers for road-law violations. The strike called by the Pakistan Transport Muttahida Action Committee (PTMAC), quickly rippled across Punjab, disrupting public mobility, commercial activity and supply chains throughout the province. 

PTMAC has put forward fourteen demands to the Punjab government, including the complete withdrawal of the new ordinance, while transport associations have also submitted twelve demands to the federal government.  Despite several appeals, goods and public transport leaders said the provincial authorities had refused to negotiate, prompting a united show of resistance by transport bodies. 

Addressing a press conference at the organisation’s office in Lahore’s Babu Sabu area, PTMAC Chairman Ismatullah Khan Niazi said the protest had originally been planned only for Punjab but had now expanded nationwide as transporters from across Pakistan joined the strike.  Chaudhry Sher Ali, central president of the Mini Muzda Goods Transport Association Pakistan, said that transporters would stand together until their rights were secured.

Several other leaders also expressed their commitment to the wheel-jam protest.  Pakistan Goods Transport Alliance (PGTA) President Malik Shehbaz Awan said in a video message that the Punjab government had been given a 72-hour ultimatum, which expired without any progress.  As a result, he said, a full shutdown would be observed across the country, including Karachi, with goods transporters halting all loading operations.

Transport leaders warned that if their demands remained unmet, a broader nationwide strike would begin on December 10.  The president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Association, Tariq Gujjar, said after talks with fellow associations that oil tanker operators and local public transporters had also joined the strike. He added that port-related transport operations would cease from Monday evening. 

Transport leaders accused the government of forcing their hand, citing thousands of FIRs filed in Punjab under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 2025 and alleging that vehicles were being held in police stations across the province.  Khanzada Khan Mehsud, senior vice chairman of the Oil Tankers Association, urged the government to stop harassment of transporters and warned that many operators were being pushed toward bankruptcy. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)