‘No arrests, FIRs for one-way violators’

Hundreds of citizens have been arrested and booked in traffic campaign

KARACHI: No FIRs should be registered against violators of one-way traffic and no arrests made, said Sindh government spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Friday.

“The Sindh government and the interior department were not consulted [on the special campaign against one-way violators],” he said, adding that Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah was deeply concerned about the issue. “However, citizens must obey traffic laws, keep their legal documents with them and not drive the wrong way.”

Plea challenges FIRs

Meanwhile, the Sindh High Court issued notices on Friday seeking replies on a plea challenging the registration of FIRs against violators of one-way traffic.

The bench, comprising Justice Iqbal Kalhoro and Justice Irshad Ali Shah, was informed by the petitioner’s counsel that 200 citizens were booked for violating traffic laws. He appealed to the court to bar police from registering FIRs against one-way violators and requested that sections under which challans were issued for the offence be elaborated on at the next hearing.

Issuing notices to the provincial chief secretary, Sindh IGP, home department secretary, traffic police DIG and others, the court adjourned the hearing till March 5. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2020.