Sindh police plan crackdown against ‘illegal’ number plates

Sindh police have announced the launch of a campaign targeting illegal number plates, which are reportedly being used in Karachi to evade e-challans.

Addressing a press conference, Additional Inspector General of Police (AIGP) Javed Alam Odho said that a large-scale campaign against illegal number plates would begin on December 19.

He said that vehicles with such number plates would be seized as part of the crackdown.

Odho noted that such a campaign was necessary to address these violations, adding that the campaign has been launched in collaboration with the Excise Department.

He further said that the Excise staff will be deployed on major highways, where vehicles with illegal number plates will also be stopped, and a case will also be registered.

Highlighting the traffic control efforts, the police chief noted that the traffic system has improved following the launch of e-ticking. At least 100,000 e-challans have been issued for different violations since its launch.

The Traffic Regulation and Citation System (TRACS) was launched on October 27, aimed at replacing the outdated manual ticketing process with a fully automated e-ticketing mechanism, utilising advanced AI-integrated CCTV cameras to detect violations such as over-speeding, red light jumping, and helmet non-compliance.

But since its inauguration, the news system has sparked debate with critics pointing to the lack of adequate facilities and infrastructure in Karachi to support its implementation.