Peshawar Sikhs can now ride sans helmets

PESHAWAR: Sikh community members in Pakistan have been exempted from wearing helmets while riding two-wheelers in Peshawar.

Peshawar police allowed the exemption after the issue was raised in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly by a member of the minority community, the Express Tribune reported.

The exemption applies to the

members of the minority community who wear turbans while riding two-wheelers.

As many as 60,000 Sikhs live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 15,000 in Peshawar alone.

Peshawar SSP (traffic) Kashif Zulfiqar has assured full cooperation with the minority community. Lahore has also been clamping down on motorcyclists who do not use helmets.

By the end of September, Lahore traffic police had issued over 58,066 tickets to motorcyclists riding without helmets in the provincial capital. After the traffic police department launched the campaign, the prices of helmets also rose.

A helmet that was being sold between 400 Pakistani rupees and 500 Pakistani rupees jumped up to 1,500 Pakistani

rupees. The decision comes on the heels of the Chandigarh administration amending its notification and allowing Sikh women to be exempted from wearing helmets while riding two-wheelers. With the new amendment, it will be optional for Sikh women to wear a protective headgear (helmet) while driving or riding a two-wheeler in Chandigarh.