The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has yet not implemented the standard operating procedure (SOP) devised by the traffic police for motorists moving in the city, including public transporters and taxis, in view of growing terrorist threats. Under the SOP, a professional driver should have a computerised national identity card (CNIC), a valid driving licence and vehicle documents before being on the road. According to the SOP, vehicles would be required be registered in the name of their current possessor, an official source told Pakistan Today.
The official said the traffic police had devised the SOP in 2009 but it could not be implemented because of increasing threats of terrorist attacks. He said most public transport drivers were openly violating the SOPs and a large number of them did not have a valid licence, which posed a threat to the lives of pedestrians as well as the general security. He said under the SOP, if a driver was not the owner of a vehicle, he would be required to have the vehicle’s registration book, his CNIC, an attested copy of the vehicle owner’s CNIC and an authority letter from the vehicle owner issued to him.
According to the SOP, taxi drivers and public transport drivers would have to display public service vehicle (PSV) licence and stickers. In case, a taxi and a PSV driver did not own his vehicle, he would have to carry with him the vehicle registration book, his CNIC, attested copy of his employer’s CNIC and an authority letter, he said. The SOP required dumper or truck drivers to display PSV licence and stickers, and if they did not own vehicles, to possess their CNICs, attested copies of owners’ CNICs, registration books and authority letters from the employer.
It was also decided that Islamabad Transport Authority (ITA) would issue stickers to motorists who had complete vehicle documents.
The official said that ITP officials only focused on traffic violations and did not bother to check registration books, CNICs, authority letter by the owner and other relevant documents. “If the police properly implement the SOP, they may easily control car-thefts and crimes in which terrorists use unauthorised vehicles,” he said.
