From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: The fishermen have called off protest at the shipping channel of Karachi Port after holding successful negotiations with the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
The fishermen have started removing their boats to end the blockage of a shipping channel after assurances by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs. The protesting fishermen had anchored more than 2,000 boats to close the shipping channel of the port effectively halting the movement of the cargo ships. Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Maritime Affairs Mahmood Moulvi said in a statement that the port is operationalised after the removal of boats from the shipping channel. He added that the movement of cargo ships will be resumed after the full clearance of the shipping channel. He said that the shipping channel had been blocked by the fishermen for 28 hours and it affected the movement of 10 cargo vessels.
Earlier, the fishermen’s protest crippled the oil terminal’s operations at Karachi Port. The fishermen of the Sindh province were protesting over the ban on fishing in Balochistan waters.
