CM Maryam’s orders to Lahore Police: Lahore police are filing FIRs, not challans, for missing number plates, putting permanent criminal records on young Pakistanis.
WEBDESK – MEDIABITES
A young educated man in Lahore spent an entire night in a lockup alongside dozens of others after R.A. Bazar police registered a first information report against him for riding a motorcycle with a missing number plate, sources said.
The man told police the number plate had fallen off his motorcycle. Despite establishing ownership of the vehicle, police arrested him and filed a formal FIR, and produced him before a court at Cantt Kachehri the following morning along with the other detainees.
Police officials cited directions from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, reportedly instructing that motorcycle riders found without number plates be arrested immediately and have FIRs registered against them rather than being issued a routine traffic challan. According to sources familiar with the crackdown, authorities have already registered more than 1,000 such FIRs across Lahore.
The policy has alarmed legal observers and civil society voices who note a significant and disproportionate consequence: a missing number plate, which would ordinarily attract a minor traffic fine, now results in a permanent criminal record, even when the rider can prove lawful ownership of the vehicle.
Critics argue that if a number plate is missing, the appropriate response is to impound the vehicle and impose a substantial fine, reserving criminal proceedings for cases where the motorcycle is suspected to be stolen or the rider cannot establish ownership.
Registering FIRs against young citizens for administrative lapses like this, they say, clogs courts, wastes police resources, burdens public finances, and permanently damages the careers and reputations of people who have committed no criminal act.
Lahore Police and the Punjab Chief Minister’s office had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Source: Ahmed Waleed
