LAHORE, Pakistan — The protest march from Lahore in Punjab to the capital Islamabad caused disruptions in textile shipments starting Aug. 8, but these are easing as the demonstrators travel up country.
The march is led by former cricketer Imran Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf, and calls for the Supreme Court to open a probe into alleged election rigging in four constituencies in last year’s general election by the party in power, the Muslim League (N group), over which Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presides.
The Punjab government, through the office of the district coordination officers, took over private shipping company containers on Aug. 8 to block roads to hamper the march, said Anis-ul-Haq, secretary of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association in Punjab. This has adversely affected $26 million in shipments from the area’s textile mills, as the containers are used to take goods to the port of Karachi on the Arabian Sea. The private shipping companies have been reluctant to send more empty containers to Punjab for fear they, too, will get requisitioned. Some mills had their goods airlifted to meet deadlines.
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“The chaos was worst Aug. 7 to 10 in Lahore and that is where most of the apparel industry of Punjab is located,” said Amir Munir, executive director of CEI Supply Chain Private Ltd., in Lahore. “The severe petrol shortage (artificially created by the government to discourage demonstrators) did not affect the shipping companies, but what did adversely affect us was the police taking over approximately 600 to 800 privately owned containers just in Lahore. Owners of the goods had to hire open trucks to carry their goods from the stuck containers that were lined up blocking main roads and thoroughfares through which the marchers would pass. It is considered high risk sending trucks in these circumstances.”
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The arrival of vessels at the port was missed and financial losses were incurred by shipping companies to hold containers at the port. Mills that were already late in their shipments and had reached their final extensions chose to airlift goods. The transportation eased up in Lahore from Friday, as the march moved north, he said.
“Any political instability in the country is not good as it projects a negative image of Pakistan to our customers,” said Aamir Fayyaz Sheikh, chief executive officer of Kohinoor Mills, which produces bottoms fabrics for such brands as Jones New York, American Eagle and VF Corp.