ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have impounded around 2,000 freight vehicles ahead of an opposition march on Islamabad, transporters said Thursday, warning that commercial cargo worth billions of rupees was stranded and their losses were mounting.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, the country’s main opposition movement, has called supporters to march on the capital on Sept. 27 to demand the release of its founder, former prime minister Imran Khan.

Authorities have restricted major routes connecting Islamabad with the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is governed by Khan’s party and from where many protesters are expected to travel. Punjab province has prohibited public gatherings of five or more people, while shipping containers have been positioned around Islamabad and on approaches to the capital.

Muhammad Owais Chaudhry, president of the All Pakistan Goods Transport Owners Association, said around 1,000 container vehicles had been impounded in Islamabad and another 1,000 in Rawalpindi and other nearby districts. He said some had been held since Sept. 6.

“Some of our containers are loaded, and most are empty right now,” Chaudhry told Arab News. “The 100-150 vehicles that you have loaded and parked in Islamabad, for God’s sake, empty them. In each and every vehicle there are millions of rupees worth of goods.”

He estimated that individual vehicles carried cargo worth between Rs20 million ($71,000) and Rs40 million ($143,000), depending on the consignment. The combined value could run into billions of rupees, or tens of millions of dollars, he said.

“This is not only a loss for our transporters, but this is the loss for the economy, this is a loss for traders and this is a loss for the common man,” Chaudhry said.

He rejected government statements that authorities had hired the vehicles for the security operation, saying they had been forcibly taken and that their owners should be compensated.

“We reject this impression, we reject this statement,” he said.

Chaudhry warned that prolonged restrictions could affect deliveries to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, northern Punjab and Azad Kashmir, although no widespread shortages have yet been reported.

Trade leader Ajmal Baloch said some seized vehicles carried food, medicine and other goods and warned that perishable cargo could spoil if trucks remained stranded. He also said the security preparations were already discouraging customers from visiting markets.

“The protest is on the 27th, even now there has been a decrease in customers in the markets,” he said. “Day by day there will be a desolate atmosphere and everything will remain stalled.”

“NO SUPPLY ISSUE”

A senior government official involved in talks with the transporters disputed claims that loaded containers were being used as barricades and said owners would be compensated.

“As per my information the containers are empty. If there is by any chance any loaded container, the transporters will get it back today,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

The official said compensating owners whose containers were used for security operations was established practice and rejected warnings of an imminent supply disruption.

“Major motorways and highways are open. There is no supply issue,” he said.

Motorway police have, however, announced restrictions affecting the M-1 motorway linking Islamabad with Peshawar, the M-14 serving southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the N-5 highway near the provincial boundary.

The government has also made contingency plans to protect fuel deliveries. The Petroleum Ministry said additional stocks had been placed at important depots and Pakistan Railways would make freight wagons available to transport diesel, particularly to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, if road closures interrupted supplies.

Syed Tahir Hussain, secretary-general of the Pakistan Ships Agents Association, said shipping lines had not received reports of disruption at ports. However, he said transporters could be held liable for damage to containers, which typically cost between $4,000 and $10,000.

“If a container is damaged then transporters will bear the cost as shipping lines will charge the damage from the transporters,” Hussain said.

Khan has been jailed since August 2023 and has faced cases ranging from corruption and the alleged misuse of state gifts to terrorism-related charges arising from protests by his supporters. He denies wrongdoing, while PTI says the prosecutions are politically motivated. The government denies interfering in judicial proceedings.