‘No payments received’: Container owners claim millions spent, but dues remain unpaid

ISLAMABAD: All Pakistan Containers Association President Awais Chaudhry has claimed that container owners have not received payments for vehicles provided during previous protests and sit-ins, despite government claims of spending millions of rupees on container rentals.

Speaking to HUM News, Chaudhry said container owners had provided vehicles for various protests and sit-ins, but their outstanding dues had yet to be paid.

He said the association had repeatedly approached the government, seeking a formal and transparent mechanism for payment of container rentals, but no such system had been established so far.

According to Chaudhry, the government has claimed that specific amounts have been paid or are to be paid to container owners. However, he said the association had no clear record confirming that the relevant owners had actually received the payments.

The association president claimed that dues for containers provided during previous sit-ins also remained unpaid, adding that he had raised the issue with the media previously.

Chaudhry said there was a need to investigate what he described as a possible discrepancy between amounts shown as having been paid in the name of container owners and the payments actually received by them.

In view of ministers’ claims regarding compensation payments, he called for a transparent audit and investigation into payments made for containers from 2013 to date.

Container owners demand direct payments

Chaudhry demanded that compensation be paid directly to the owners whose vehicles were taken into government custody, rather than through an association, contractor or third party.

He said the government should maintain a transparent record showing how many containers each owner provided, the period for which they were used and the amount payable to each owner.

He claimed that no such clear mechanism currently existed.

The association president also pointed to a discrepancy between government figures regarding spending on container rentals and other security-related expenses during protests and the owners’ claims of non-payment.

He said the relevant government departments should make their payment records public to clarify the discrepancy.