The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior gave a go-ahead on Wednesday to a legislation that will add 12 more actions to the list of 71 traffic violations.
Using mobile phones; driving with unfastened seatbelts; smoking while driving; putting up LCD screens in cars and seating men on the front seats of public vehicles were termed traffic violations and added to the list of violations.
Similarly, tinting car windows, driving bicycles in the fast lanes and pedestrians’ crossing highways from prohibited points were also declared traffic violations.
The resolution was passed as part of the amendments made in the Provincial Motor Vehicles Ordinance 1965, in its application to the ICT.
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Tariq Mahmood Pirzada told the committee that out of the 116 people killed on Islamabad’s roads during the last month, 57 percent were pedestrians. Fines on existing traffic violations would also be enhanced.
The committee appreciated the proposed legislation, saying traffic laws should cater to the needs of the people. The committee members said the traffic laws needed to be implemented and enforced in true letter and spirit.
Committee chairman Abdul Qadir Patel, keeping certain committee members’ reservations in view, constituted a sub-committee to further examine the ‘The National Database and Registration Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2012’ and fine tune it with the help of the Law Ministry.
Earlier, the committee members had discussed the bill which was originally moved by MNA Azra Fazal Pechuho. The proposed bill sought the addition of a ‘guardian’ column in the national identity card so as to resolve the issue of registration of children whose parentage was unknown.
Patel also constituted two separate sub-committees to examine ‘The Passports (Amendment) Bill, 2012’ also moved by Pechuho. The committee will also discuss the possibility of recording more than one weapon in the new computerised arms license.
