Sindh's number plate drive fuels fines, public anger, processing delays

KARACHI: The Sindh government’s decision to enforce new number plates for all vehicles has turned into a major nuisance for Karachi’s citizens, with widespread challans, vehicle impoundments, and growing public outrage.

The Excise Department is facing a huge backlog of issuing fresh plates as application numbers surge, with citizens thronging offices across the city. However, due to sluggish processing and inadequate infrastructure, delays in issuing the new plates have become routine.

In the past 10 days alone, over 6,000 people approached the Civic Centre, where new number plates are issued, only to be told immediate issuance is not possible.

An Excise official admitted the spike in demand, noting: “In the last two months, only 500 motorbike number plates were requested. In just 10 days, over 5,000 receipts were generated. Naturally, it will take time.”

While the department grapples with a backlog, the traffic police have launched a relentless campaign, penalising vehicles with old plates. Without clear guidance from the Sindh government or the Excise Department, the police have issued fines worth millions and seized more than 12,000 vehicles and bikes.

Residents say the situation is unfair and uncalled for. “Any plate works. There's no law saying it must be provincial,” said a motorist. Another added: "They just want to harass us — they have a quota to meet."

The fee for a new number plate is Rs1,850 for motorbikes and Rs2,450 for cars, sparking further criticism. Citizens argue they’ve already paid once and shouldn’t be charged again.

Several have urged the Excise Department to set up city-wide camps and conduct the process systematically, while reining in the alleged excesses of the traffic police.

Political voices have also joined the fray. MQM-P senior leader Farooq Sattar accused the Sindh government and Karachi traffic police of extortion under the pretext of number plates. “This is a new method to loot the people of Karachi. Daily bribes worth millions are collected and passed upwards,” he claimed.

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Ameer Munem Zafar Khan has called on Karachi residents to stand up for their rights, condemning what he termed the “traffic police’s high-handedness and systematic extortion,” highlighting over 52,000 challans in two months and accusing authorities of delivering “zero services but maximum taxation.”