Balochistan to introduce convoy system on highways for safer travel

QUETTA: The Balochistan government has decided to roll out a convoy system on highways across the province to improve the safety of cargo transport, passenger coaches and other road users.

The decision was announced on Thursday by Additional Chief Secretary Home Hamza Shafqaat during a meeting with representatives of the Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Quetta Commissioner Shahzeb Khan Kakar was also present at the meeting.

Addressing business representatives, Shafqaat said the government was placing the safe movement of passengers and transport at the centre of its response and was committed to taking all necessary steps to secure the province’s roads. “Providing safe journeys and the smooth movement of transport and passengers is the government’s top priority,” he added.

According to officials at the meeting, the convoy system for the protected movement of goods vehicles from the Taftan border to Quetta and onward to other parts of the country will be launched soon. They also said immediate steps were being taken to compensate the families of those killed in the recent incident in Kalat.

Business community raises security concerns

Representatives of the Quetta Chamber voiced strong concern over continued attacks on cargo trucks, LPG bowsers and other vehicles on highways in Balochistan. They asked the government to take special steps to safeguard the lives and property of transporters, passengers and the wider public.

Participants in the meeting also presented their views and suggestions on the proposed convoy arrangement and other security matters. They said incidents involving trucks being set ablaze had continued, while highway robberies had also increased, deepening anxiety among importers, exporters, passengers and the public.

The business representatives further said the destruction of bridges had added to the difficulties on the roads and worsened the overall situation for transport and trade.

Security measures being expanded

Shafqaat, Commissioner Kakar and Quetta Deputy Commissioner Mehrullah Badini told transporters and members of the business community that the provincial government and district administration were fully aware of the seriousness of the situation and had already begun measures to strengthen security on national highways across Balochistan.

They said the convoy system for goods transport would be introduced shortly. The officials added that the services of the Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps and the Anti-Terrorism Force were being used to reinforce security and to clear areas where incidents of vehicles being burned had occurred repeatedly.