Pakistan blocks Islamabad roads with containers to halt PTI protest
Pakistan has blocked roads into Islamabad with shipping containers to stop a planned protest by Imran Khan's PTI party.
PTI is demanding Khan's release from prison, and the roadblocks have also caused headaches for truckers at Karachi port, who are now pausing shipments north out of fear their trucks might get seized.
Authorities seize over 2,000 vehicles
Since early September, authorities have seized more than 2,000 vehicles, making it tough to move goods between cities like Rawalpindi and Jhelum.
This mess has pushed up the transport price index 27.43% in September from a year earlier and left truck owners paying big daily fees just to keep their containers parked.
The Karachi Goods Carrier Association says the losses are piling up, and if things don't change soon, they're ready to protest too:
Rana Mohammad Aslam, president of the Karachi Goods Carrier Association, said, "The bills are piling up for those whose containers have been seized."