765 Islamabad VIPs fined by traffic police

Law enforcement authorities say operation sends a strong message to all

Crackdown on offenders sends a strong message to all, law enforcers say

Encouraged by the government’s campaign to equally apply the law regardless of any individual’s status, Islamabad Police have fined over 700 influential people including legislators, government officials and armed forces personnel since last January.

This marks a large increase in recorded traffic violations by VIPs compared to last year.

According to the statistics shared with Gulf News by Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP), as many as 187 government officers, 101 Senators and Members of National and Provincial Assembles and 322 armed forces employees are among the violators.

Diplomats on list

In addition, the offenders included 32 foreigners/diplomats, 40 judiciary officers, 70 journalists, 12 police officers and 1 celebrity, traffic police officials revealed.

Violations included speeding, going through red lights, driving without seat belts, use of tint on windows and using a mobile phone while driving.

Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Farrukh Rasheed told Gulf News that “the application of the rule of law for all citizens equally sends a powerful message to the general public and discourages them from violating traffic laws.”

When asked about the instances when police found themselves under pressure from influential citizens, Rasheed simply said, “There is no pressure on police now.”

Surprisingly, the numbers of traffic violations by VIPs increased more than ten-fold in 2018 as a total of 765 were fined this year compared to only 65 in 2017.

Many Islamabad residents said they appreciated the police action against violators, and expressed hope that it would improve the image of police in the eyes of ordinary citizens.

“This is surprising that so many VIPs have been fined by daring police officers. Equal implementation of law would bridge the gap between people and police while also strengthening law and order situation in Pakistan,” said Zehra Farman, a lecturer in Islamabad.

However, she lamented that the traffic ticket fines in Islamabad are awfully low.

Using cell phone

A total of 679,529 traffic offences (by all Islamabad citizens) were recorded this year from January 1 to October 21, a slight increase of 2.2 per cent over 2017 which saw 664,425 violations.

Driving without a helmet was the top offence by common citizens followed by careless driving, using phone while driving and speeding.

To ensure public convenience, Islamabad city has moved towards digital policing, offering digital fine processing, under which violators receive notifications through SMS.