Crackdown against Careem in Islamabad, authorities seize vehicles

ISLAMABAD: After Punjab and Sindh, authorities have now seized several vehicles operating under ride-hailing services Careem in the federal capital.

On Monday, Punjab government declared the services of mobile-application taxi service providers Careem, Uber and A-One as illegal.

A notification issued by the Punjab Transport Authority stated: "It has been observed with grave concern that some companies including Careem, Uber, A-One etc are offering cab services through mobile network technology without registering the private cars with any regulatory body and without obtaining fitness certificate/route permits of these cars, causing great loss to the Govt."

The notification further mentioned that as security clearances of drivers are also not obtained from concerned authorities, orders have been issued for strict action against the aforementioned companies.

A day after Punjab, the Sindh government on Tuesday also sought legal action against these companies, for using private cars as taxis without the mandatory legal permits.

Owners of the cars would be required to obtain fitness certificates for the cars. Route permits would be needed before the cars can be used as taxis, Sindh Transport Secretary Taha Farooqui said in a statement.

Now, the curbs have been extended to Islamabad as deputy commissioner issued orders to concerned departments for taking action against these mobile-app taxi service providers.

These unregistered companies and vehicles can create issues regarding safety of lives and property of the masses, read a notification issued.

It resulted in charging the concerned authorities who seized several vehicles operating under these services.

Yesterday, Chief Minister Punjab Shehbaz Sharif allowed mobile-application taxi service providers Careem and Uber to get registered within 15 days.

The companies will continue to operate their services in the meantime, a spokesperson from the Punjab Government clarified.

Parliamentarians urge new legislation

Members of the Parliament have urged for legislating new laws with regard to ride-hailing services in the country.

PTI MNA Shehryar Afridi said his party will extend complete support any legislation in the regard. He questioned what was the government doing when a new service was being introduced?

"I myself have availed this service and it should not be restricted," said MNA Saman Jafri.