Regional
Goods transporters to go on strike from Saturday after talks with Pakistan govt fail
However, the minister has assured the transporters that he would discuss their demands, and the next round of talks would be held on Monday morning.
Goods transporters and oil tanker operators began suspending their services on Friday night after negotiations with the Pakistani government failed, ahead of their nationwide wheel-jam strike scheduled for Saturday.
All Pakistan Goods Transport Itehad spokesman and All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association President Mohammad Owais Chaudhry Advocate told Dawn that talks with Federal Minister for Communications Aleem Khan and other government officials had failed.
He said the negotiations ended without a breakthrough, prompting transporters, including edible oil tanker operators, petroleum oil tanker operators, truckers, trailer operators and other intercity transporters, to proceed with their previously announced strike.
“We have informed the government side about the problems we are facing and our concerns,” Chaudhry said, adding that the strike would continue until their demands were accepted.
However, the minister has assured the transporters that he would discuss their demands, and the next round of talks would be held on Monday morning.
The unified body of transporters had already announced that it would begin its wheel-jam strike from August 8, and warned that it would not be a token strike but an indefinite one.
“Commercial goods carriers across the country have already been taken off the roads and will remain stationed at designated places during the protest period,” Chaudhry said.
Among the key demands of the transporters is the uniform enforcement of axle-load limits across the country and permission for 10-wheel vehicles to carry up to 35 tonnes.
They have also demanded reductions in diesel prices and toll taxes, besides seeking relief in withholding tax to ease the financial burden on the transport sector.
The transporters have also called for the withdrawal of customs provisions that, according to the association, allow authorities to confiscate vehicles carrying goods found to be in violation of customs laws.
Other demands include the withdrawal of the Punjab Highway Patrol’s powers to issue challans to commercial vehicles, an end to what the association described as unnecessary challans and excessive fines on motorways and highways, and measures to facilitate the issuance of heavy transport vehicle licences to drivers.
Iran has sent the United States a nuclear proposal via Qatar, to be discussed only after Washington meets Tehran’s seven demands, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US was reviewing the proposal but declined to provide further details.
Mediators have intensified efforts to end the war between Iran and the United States amid fears it could reignite after the US midterm elections, with Trump on Tuesday declining to rule out a resumption of combat operations after the vote and Iran planning wider retaliation if war resumes.
Iran’s top security official Mohsen Rezaei had said earlier on Thursday, during a visit to Russia: “On the issue of diplomacy, we have announced seven conditions to the Americans. As long as they do not execute our seven conditions, we will neither open the Strait of Hormuz nor have negotiations”.
Iran has demanded the lifting of US sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and war reparations, among other conditions, while Washington has said nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiations.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and Iran responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. Conflict also erupted in Lebanon between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, and more recently spread to Yemen, from where the Iran-aligned Houthis have struck energy facilities, airports and other targets in Saudi Arabia.
Regional
Iran says US voted ‘No to War’ after Republican midterm losses
The comments came after US President Donald Trump acknowledged that the war with Iran and rising petrol prices had contributed to the Republicans’ poor election performance.
Saudi Arabia and Syria signed a cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defense ministries on Wednesday, Saudi state news agency SPA reported, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group continues its missile and drone attacks on the kingdom.
The agreement was signed during a visit by Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to Riyadh, where he met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It was their second meeting in Saudi Arabia in less than a month, according to Reuters.
No details were provided on what the agreement entails. Reuters reported last month that Syria was carefully weighing providing military assistance to Saudi Arabia amid the kingdom’s escalating war against the Houthis in Yemen.
A Syrian diplomat said at the time that any request for military cooperation or exchange of expertise “would take place exclusively through official channels and within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly countries.”
Saudi Arabia has been requesting assistance far and wide, from the US to Europe and the Middle East, for both defensive and offensive support in a renewed war against the Houthis.
The two countries also signed several other agreements during Sharaa’s visit to Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has been providing financial assistance to Syria and played a key role in re-establishing Damascus’ ties with world powers after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad.
The Saudi Fund for Development signed six agreements with Syria’s Finance Ministry on Wednesday for the provision of concessional development loans worth over $403 million to support development and service sectors in Syria, the Syrian ministry said.
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