The government has said issues facing goods transporters will be resolved soon and invited their representatives for talks in Islamabad on Monday (today), as a nationwide strike over daily diesel price revisions and higher toll charges entered its second day.

The All Pakistan Goods Transporters Alliance began the strike on Saturday after talks with the government failed to produce a breakthrough, threatening disruptions to domestic supply chains and exports in a country that relies heavily on road freight to move goods between ports, factories and markets.

Communications Minister Abdul Aleem Khan assured representatives of the alliance during a video-link meeting on Saturday that all their “legitimate demands” would be addressed on a priority basis, his ministry said in a statement.

“Issues of goods transporters will be resolved soon,” he was quoted as saying.

The minister invited a delegation of transporters to Islamabad on Monday for detailed discussions on their concerns.

The transporters have demanded that the government withdraw its decision to revise diesel prices daily and instead determine them on a monthly basis.

Pakistan previously revised petroleum prices every fortnight but moved to daily revisions amid volatility in global energy markets following the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February.

The alliance is also seeking restoration of toll rates that were in effect on June 1, 2024, a halt to further increases and a one-year ban on establishing new toll plazas.

It has demanded that a seven percent withholding tax imposed on goods transporters be reduced to two percent and called for uniform enforcement of axle-load regulations across the country, with overloading controlled at the point of origin.

Khan said the government would begin implementing its axle-load policy immediately and made clear that “not a single overloaded vehicle” would be allowed to enter motorways.

The minister said transporters had expressed support for the government’s axle-load policy and urged them to cooperate in protecting motorways and national highways from damage caused by excessive loads.

“If we do not sit together and discuss our issues, how can we move forward,” he said during the meeting, according to the ministry.

He also ordered the inspector general of the motorway police to act against corruption in the force, saying officials found taking bribes would be dismissed and face criminal cases. 

Almost 2.7 million Afghans have returned to their country since Pakistan began a nationwide deportation drive against illegal immigrants, most of them Afghan nationals, in late 2023, the Punjab government said on Sunday, as authorities continue operations against undocumented foreign nationals.

So far, 2,689,295 Afghan people have been deported from Pakistan, the Punjab Home Department said in a statement. This includes 140,468 undocumented Afghans from Punjab alone.

The department said all Afghan citizens who did not have valid visas were viewed to be illegally residing in Pakistan under the policy of the federal government.

It said police were inspecting residential areas and markets around the region, detaining undocumented Afghans and sending them to holding centers before deporting them.

The statement further claimed that there were 39 holding centers functional in Punjab where 188 Afghan nationals were present at the moment.

“Temporary accommodation, registration and repatriation of undocumented Afghan nationals have been organised at the holding centers,” it said.

In October 2023, Pakistan unveiled its Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, which mandates that unauthorised foreigners leave the nation or be deported.

The Punjab administration claimed its foreign national security cell was co-ordinating and monitoring actions across the province and invited the public to report undocumented Afghan nationals, identity fraud or suspicious conduct to police.

Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, issued a decree on Sunday naming Mohsen Rezaei as his representative to the country’s Supreme National Security Council, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr.

Rezaei is a top Iranian military consultant and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Khamenei called Rezaei a pioneer of the eight-year “Sacred Defense,” Iran’s euphemism for the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, and noted his “valuable experience.”

The proclamation read: “I wish you every success in the discharge of this important responsibility. Khamenei also expressed thanks to Zolghadr for his “tireless efforts.”

State media over the weekend issued a list of demands from Zolghadr, including removing the US naval blockade and evacuation of armed forces and a permanent end to the war.

It is unclear if Rezaei’s appointment changes the status of such demands.il, replacing Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, in a decree published Sunday.

Rezaei is a prominent adviser to Iranian military and a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Khamenei called Rezaei a pioneer of the eight-year “Sacred Defense,” Iran’s euphemism for the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War, and noted his “valuable experience.”

The proclamation read: “I wish you every success in the discharge of this important responsibility. Khamenei also expressed thanks to Zolghadr for his “tireless efforts.”

State media over the weekend issued a list of demands from Zolghadr, including removing the US naval blockade and evacuation of armed forces and a permanent end to the war.

It is not apparent whether Rezaei’s nomination will change the status of such demands.