Freight operators and traders in Sindh are pressing the police for stronger protection on one of Pakistan’s busiest commercial corridors. The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry (HCSTSI) has formally called on law enforcement to tighten security on the M-9 Motorway after a reported armed robbery near the Nooriabad incline in Jamshoro district — warning that continued insecurity threatens drivers, cargo, and the timely movement of goods between Karachi and the rest of the country.
Key Takeaways
- The Hyderabad Chamber of Small Traders & Small Industry has demanded stronger police protection on the M-9 Motorway after an armed robbery near Nooriabad.
- The chamber wants arrests, more patrolling, and better surveillance at vulnerable spots along the Karachi–Hyderabad freight corridor.
- Recent reports of high-value cargo heists on the M-9 underline a growing security problem for Pakistan’s goods transport sector.
What Happened on the M-9
According to a joint statement issued by the chamber’s leadership, armed men stopped a trailer travelling from Karachi near the Nooriabad incline, held its driver hostage, and escaped with cash and mobile phones. The Nooriabad stretch — where heavy vehicles slow down on the incline — has emerged as a spot where commercial traffic is seen as particularly exposed.
The chamber’s statement was issued jointly by its president, Nadeem Ahmed Siddiqui, senior vice president Muhammad Fahad Mian, and vice president Irfan Arbiani. The chamber framed the attack as a symptom of inadequate patrolling on a corridor that should rank among the country’s most closely watched roads, given the value of the commercial cargo it carries daily.
What Traders Are Demanding
The HCSTSI leadership laid out a clear set of asks for the authorities:
- Arrest the suspects involved in the trailer robbery and recover the stolen cash and mobile phones.
- Increase police patrolling near the Nooriabad incline and other vulnerable points along the M-9.
- Strengthen surveillance on the corridor to deter repeat attacks on commercial traffic.
- Formal investigation by the Sindh Inspector General of Police, Hyderabad police officials, Jamshoro Police, and the Motorway Police.
The chamber stressed that the M-9 is a primary artery for moving commercial goods between Karachi, Hyderabad, and other cities — and that persistent insecurity on the route puts drivers, transport businesses, and delivery schedules at risk.
Why This Matters for Pakistan’s Supply Chains
The M-9, linking Karachi’s port terminals to Hyderabad and onward routes, carries a significant share of the country’s freight. Karachi’s ports handle the overwhelming bulk of Pakistan’s import and export cargo, so any stretch of motorway feeding them is effectively economic infrastructure. When drivers fear robbery — or companies start rerouting or slowing shipments — the costs ripple through to wholesalers, retailers, and ultimately consumers in the form of delays and higher prices.
The current complaint from Hyderabad’s traders lands at a difficult moment for the goods transport sector. Freight operators in recent weeks have separately been locked in disputes over detained vehicles and containers during protest-related road blockades around Islamabad, alongside long-standing grievances over fines, diesel prices, and road conditions. A fresh security scare on the M-9 adds another layer of uncertainty to an industry already under strain.
A Pattern, Not an Isolated Incident
The Nooriabad incident is not the first high-profile highway crime reported on the M-9. Published press reports document a string of serious cases on the corridor in 2025:
- May 2025: A truck carrying lubricant oil reportedly worth Rs140 million was intercepted near Lunikot on the M-9 in Jamshoro district. Driver Kalamuddin Khan told police that robbers held him and his brother — the truck’s cleaner — at gunpoint, blindfolded and tied them up, drove the truck toward Bhit Shah in Matiari, and vanished with the container’s 21,300-litre consignment, which had been en route from Karachi to Faisalabad. The case was reported by The Express Tribune.
- May 2025: Days earlier, a truck transporting medicines worth around Rs33 million was looted near Khanpur Mor along the M-9 in Jamshoro’s jurisdiction, en route from Karachi toward Faisalabad and Rawalpindi. Police recovered the truck in Hyderabad’s Hatri area but not the pharmaceutical cargo.
- March 2025: A 45-year-old mini-truck driver, Wahid Bux Jatoi, was shot dead on the M-9 in the limits of the Lunikot police station after his vehicle broke down and he resisted a robbery, according to a report in The Nation. Police said the attackers also took Rs80,000 in cash and his mobile phone.
That record helps explain why the chamber’s demand goes beyond a single investigation and pushes for sustained patrolling and surveillance on the corridor.
What’s Next
The chamber has addressed its demands to the Sindh IGP, Hyderabad police, Jamshoro Police, and the Motorway Police — spreading responsibility across both the provincial police and the motorway’s own law enforcement. Whether patrols and surveillance actually intensify in the coming days will be the real test of the response.
For now, the message from the traders is blunt: one of Pakistan’s key freight corridors cannot remain a soft target for armed gangs. Drivers already contend with fuel costs, fines, and road closures; robberies that hold them hostage and empty their trucks are a risk no logistics system can absorb quietly.
