Small business owners in Karachi worried about the current crackdown on the new Ajrak number plate for motorcycles.
They said it was an attempt by the government to extract Rs 8 billion by force.
The Pakistani Organization of Small Traders and Cottage Industries in Karachi has requested that the Chief Justice of Sindh pay attention. President Mehmood Hameed and other officials lead the group.
As per the traders’ group, the Sindh government has begun charging Rs 1,850 per Ajrak number plate for the 3.2 million motorbikes in the city.
However, people have to pay Rs 2,500 to agents to get the plates. They say this fee unfair because the cost of the license plates is already covered by the advance tax paid when the motorbike is bought.
Despite paying for them, thousands of people who applied for number plates last year still haven’t received them, according to the traders.
At the same time, traffic cops across the city have started a campaign to fine motorcyclists who don’t have the new Ajrak number plate.
There have been mass challans, car seizures, and allegations of official bribery, according to reports.
Motorcycles are essential for the working class, according to small traders and shop owners, who say they have no choice but to move goods by bike because gas prices are rising.
They claim that traffic cops are targeting bikers, using the license plate issue as an excuse to search for and find them on the roadside.
The group has stated that they will protest outside the DIG Traffic office if the policy remains in place.
They were also against limiting Qingqi rickshaws on 20 important roads, arguing that this would raise lead unemployment.
The traders demanded the scrapping of the Ajrak plate policy, citing “double taxation” and “misuse of power” as their reasons.
There will be no reversal of the decision to issue Ajrak number plates. Sindh minister.
Karachi: Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Chawla on Wednesday said that the decision to implement security-featured Ajrak number plates will not be reversed under any circumstances.
In an interview with ARY News, the minister said that the Sindh government has been issuing the security-featured number plates since 2021.
Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that these number plates are mandatory for all motorcycle and vehicle owners.
The minister accused certain linguistic groups of politicizing the issue by associating the security-featured number plates with Ajrak.
“These tactics are being used to spread division,” he added.
Mukesh Kumar Chawla stated that Ajrak is a cultural symbol of Sindh, questioning why it should considered offensive.
The minister said that the number plates also feature the Mazar-e-Quaid and the Sindh government logo.
Meanwhile, the Sindh government’s decision to impose Sindh number plates for all licensed vehicles has caused anarchy and frustration among Karachi residents.
Intended to control the flow of vehicles and improve tax collection, the initiative has instead caused lengthy waits, delayed issuance, and strict traffic enforcement.
Official statistics indicate that Karachi has 3.5 million registered motorcycles and 2.3 million registered cars, presenting an operational challenge for the rollout of new license plates.
Citizens are at the mercy of the traffic police because the Excise Department has not provided clear guidelines despite the importance of the task.
In just two months, they have issued more than 54,000 challans.
Ajrak Number Plates: Understanding the New Traffic Policy
Recently, more than 13,000 vehicles and bikes have been seized due to non-compliance with the new policy for Sindh number plates, and traffic challans have also been issued in Karachi.
Authorities reject reports from citizens visiting the Civic Centre, citing delays in plate production.
One Excise official acknowledged that, although only 600 motorbike plates were requested in the past two months, over 5,000 applications filed in just 10 days.
The cost of the new Sindh number plates, Rs 1,960 for motorcycles and Rs 2,670 for cars, has also drawn disapproval.
Many argue that they have already paid the registration fees and should not face additional charges.
Political leaders, including MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Munem Zafar Khan, have condemned the move, calling it a form of “systematic extortion.”
The SHC will question the policy for the Ajrak number plate
The Sindh government’s decision to enforce Ajrak number plates is under challenge.
The high court reported on Wednesday that the case is under challenge.
The cost of the new Sindh number plates, Rs1,850 for motorcycles and Rs2,450 for cars, has also drawn disapproval.
Details reveal that social activist Faizan Hussain has challenged the decision to change motorcycle and vehicle number plates in the SHC.
The petition names the Secretary of Excise and Taxation, the Motor Vehicle Registration Wing, and the DIG Traffic as respondents.
Faizan, in his plea, argues that the decision to replace current number plates with Ajrak number plates has caused significant inconvenience to the public.
The petition cites a recent government notification that mandates the impoundment of vehicles without Ajrak number plates.
However, citizens had already obtained the previous number plates after making due payments.
The petitioner contends that the government should provide the newly designed number plates at no cost and that there is no legal justification for penalizing or impounding vehicles due to the absence of new plates.
The petition further alleges that traffic police and motor vehicle authorities have turned the plate change into a business venture, resulting in unnecessary harassment of the public.
It also states that government departments are taking months to issue the new plates, while roadside vendors are producing counterfeit versions.
The petitioner has requested the court to order the government to distribute the new Ajrak number plates free of charge and to halt the imposition of fines and vehicle impoundments immediately.