Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Jawed Bilwani on Tuesday voiced serious concern over the ongoing sit-in and road blockades in Sindh’s Khairpur district, warning the situation has brought traffic on the National Highway to a standstill, severely affecting the transportation of goods nationwide.
In a statement, Bilwani acknowledged the constitutional right to peaceful protest, but emphasized that prolonged blockades of major trade routes—particularly those used for inter-city cargo and exports—are inflicting tremendous losses on the business community, especially with regards to perishable goods.
“The entire supply chain stands paralyzed due to the road closures and sit-ins, with long queues of containers and commercial vehicles stranded at Rohri, Ali Wahan, and other key arteries,” he said. “This has not only disrupted internal commerce but also threatens Pakistan’s export commitments and damages its credibility in global markets,” he said.
Stressing that the concerns of the protesters should be addressed through dialogue and mutual respect, the KCCI president asserted that it is the government’s responsibility to ensure national economic activities are not affected. “The situation is not only hurting businesses and industries but also jeopardizing employment and trade at a time when the country is already facing serious economic challenges,” he said.
Urging the federal and provincial governments to take urgent steps to address the situation, he warned that the blockade’s economic repercussions are growing by the hour. “We appeal for an immediate resolution in the interest of the economy and the public at large,” he added.
Lawyers, Sindhi nationalists and civil society have been staging a sit-in on the National Highway and Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed for the past five days against a proposed project to build six new canals on the Indus River. The PPP-led Sindh government has said it supports the protests but has urged the demonstrators to not block roads, stressing this is causing undue hardships for citizens.
The protesters claim the canals project will leave Sindh barren and trigger a water shortage. The federal government, however, says the project is still in a proposal stage and has yet to proceed toward implementation. It maintains that it will not proceed with the project if it can’t achieve consensus on it. The protesters say this is unacceptable and they will only disperse if the government announces it is scrapping the project.
Additionally, the Karachi Bar Association has announced an indefinite boycott of court proceedings in solidarity with the protesters.