Karachi transport strike continues after three-hour talks fail

KARACHI: Karachi's transporters said their strike would continue after a three-hour meeting with the city's traffic police chief ended without a settlement on Saturday.

A five-member delegation of the Karachi Transport Ittehad, headed by president Haji Tawab Khan and secretary general Muhammad Ilyas, met DIG Traffic Pir Muhammad Shah to press the sector's long-pending demands.

During the talks, DIG Shah assured the delegation that e-challan fines would be reconsidered at the original penalty stage. He also said manual challans issued by traffic police through mobile phone photography would be stopped, according to the reported outcome of the meeting.

Transporters, however, said several major issues remained unresolved, including biometric verification, insurance requirements and the release of vehicles taken into custody. They said those matters were outside the DIG Traffic's authority, while Shah also reportedly told them that the issue of vehicles impounded during protests and road blockades would be taken up with the police chief.