Daily Incidents of Robbery and Firing on Quetta-Karachi Highway; Travelers Suffering from Insecurity and Transport Business Ruined: Transporters’ Concern

Quetta (Daily Qudrat Quetta) — Prominent transporters Haji Mir Hikmat Lehri, Haji Mir Daulat Khan Lehri, Haji Habibullah Badizai, Haji Mir Akbar Lehri, Haji Musa Jan Achakzai, Haji Walo Nasar, and Haji Saifuddin Barech, expressing a strong reaction to the worst law and order situation on the Quetta-Karachi Highway, have said that instability, robbery, and daily incidents of firing on passenger vehicles have severely affected the transport business on the Quetta-Karachi route, while a trend of avoiding travel on this important highway is increasing among passengers due to insecurity.

They said that the Quetta-Karachi Highway is an important commercial and travel route of Balochistan, where thousands of passengers and people associated with transport travel daily, but the deteriorating law and order situation has left passengers, drivers, conductors, and transporters facing severe difficulties. Due to daily incidents of robbery and firing, the movement of passenger vehicles is being affected, and transporters are facing financial losses.

They said that the transport sector is already suffering due to inflation, increase in petroleum product prices, expensive vehicle spare parts, and other expenses; in such conditions, insecurity on the highway has plunged the business into a further crisis. If passengers do not have access to safe travel facilities, it becomes difficult to run the transport system normally.

The transporters demanded from the Government of Balochistan, the Home Department, and relevant law enforcement agencies that effective and practical measures be taken to restore law and order on the Quetta-Karachi Highway, security be increased at sensitive locations, and an effective patrol and surveillance system be established for the protection of passenger vehicles and the prevention of criminal elements, so that protection can be provided to passengers and people associated with transport.

They said that ensuring safe travel on the Quetta-Karachi Highway is the basic responsibility of the government and relevant institutions. Without providing protection to the people, not only can the transport business be restored, but it will also be difficult to bring Balochistan’s commercial and economic activities back to normal. They demanded that immediate measures be taken to end instability on the highway and remove the anxiety found among passengers and transporters.