Sindh Home Minister Sohail Anwar Siyal has extended the date for renewing driving licenses for private vehicles (motorcycles and cars) for one month.
Earlier, DIG Traffic Amir Ahmed Shaikh had given 15 days to drivers to get their licenses renewed after he announced the start of a three-phased campaign against all drivers violating traffic laws, specifically those driving without a license, from Monday.
However, hundreds of people on Monday rushed to the driving license department offices, where they could be seen queued outside to get their licenses renewed. Police resorted to baton-charge on the people when the situation went out of control in Nazimabad office.
On the other hand, DIG Driving License branch Aftab Pathan said that offices would remain operational from 9:00AM to 5:00PM and would also be open on Saturday and Sunday to facilitate the masses.
The first and second phases, according to the DIG, would focus on public transport vehicles plying the roads without taximeters.
DIG Shaikh strictly added that drivers who did not have their licenses would be jailed under section 3 & 99 of Motor Vehicles Ordinance, 1965. The driving licenses, he added, would be verified on the spot through an SMS.
With respect to taxis and rickshaws, he said that traffic officials would be directed to check whether meters installed in the vehicles were functional or not.
These specific directives, he stated were being given keeping in view the rising number of complaints received from the public, of rickshaw and taxi drivers not using the meters, and refusing to give passengers a ride if they asked for them to use the meters. However, following the expiration of the deadline, the drivers would also be jailed if found driving without a license, he added.
A special desk for issuing licenses was requested to be set up at the license department by the DIG in order to accommodate and facilitate maximum number of applicants. Personnel from the traffic branch were also deployed at the licenses branch for a speedy process.
The senior traffic officials also claimed to have written a letter to the provincial government calling for it to make it mandatory for buyers to show their driving licenses before purchasing a vehicle.
