KABUL (SW) – Transporters on Sunday warned to go on nationwide strike if the government failed to ensure security on highways and put an end to extortion.
Tala Mohammad Utmanzi, head of the transporters’ coordination council, said at a meeting in Kabul that insecurity and extortion on the country’s highways have increased. Utmanzi said that instead of reducing the problems of investors by installing weight control scanners, the government has created challenges for traders.
According to him, the condition of the country’s highways is very bad and every day two or three employees of transport companies are losing their lives to insecurities. He said the Taliban too extort money from transporters at a point in Zabul province on the main Kabul – Kandahar highway.
According to the head of transporters’ coordination council, the matter has been shared with the relevant authorities, but to no avail.
Mohammad Zarif, a trader, said insecurity and extortion are on the rise on the country’s highways, especially on the Herat – Kandahar part of the Kandahar – Kabul highway. According to him, police and traffic officials are also involved in extortion.
We wished to have views of the interior ministry, but repeated calls were not responded.
ENDS
