Islamabad, Nov 8: Punjab Police Cracks Down on Illegal Number Plates
All Chief Traffic Officers, including those in Rawalpindi, and District Traffic Officers throughout Punjab have received a directive from Mirza Faran Baig, the Additional Inspector General of Police Punjab.
He emphasized that decorative and unlawful number plates make it more difficult for law enforcement to identify cars engaged in accidents and crimes, which puts public safety at risk by enabling criminals to elude punishment.
CTOs and District Traffic Officers were directed by Syed Ghazanfar Ali Shah (SSP HQ) on behalf of AIG Traffic to collaborate with the Excise and Taxation Department at the district level.
They intend to launch a coordinated campaign against unregistered cars and illegitimate license plates.
The instruction noted that while some cars have concealed or buried number plates, others display “Applied For” (APL) plates. This hinders efficient enforcement in addition to breaking traffic laws.
Punjab Police Cracks Down
It is challenging to crack down cars involved in collisions, events, or crimes when the license plate numbers are inaccurate or unreadable.
It also makes it more difficult for the Punjab Safe Cities Authority to implement its e-challenging system, which depends on unambiguous identification.
To end this behavior, the AIG directed district traffic officers and CTOs to act right away.
Manufacturers of unlawful number plates may be subject to legal repercussions in addition to fines for drivers.
He said that during last two days the traffic police issued fine tickets to over 26,000 vehicles with unapproved number plates in the provincial capital.
Senior police officers also attended the meeting besides representatives of the Safe City Authority.
Now the crackdown is being intensified, he said, adding that the E-Challan system was also likely to be activated soon. For the purpose, he said amendments in the law were likely to be made in coming weeks.
