Traffic police to control LTV licensing

After the opening of the driving schools in Peshawar, the police are moving in to take control of the authority to issue LTV (Light Transport Vehicle) licenses.

The cold war between the K-P Transport Department and the traffic police entered its final round and ultimately seemed to reach a conclusion. Due to the positive response from citizens towards the establishment of driving schools, it is highly likely that the authority to issue LTV licenses will also be transferred to the traffic police. For this purpose, an important meeting between traffic officials and the chief minister will take place on Tuesday.

During the moot, it is expected that the traffic police will present all the evidence in a briefing to the chief secretary and chief minister.

The traffic police have prepared a 14-point agenda to bring the provincial government up to speed. According to the document, since 1970, under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance of 1965 and the Motor Vehicle Rules of 1969, the traffic police have been issuing standard driving licenses.

In 2018, the provincial government issued a directive, stating that the authority to issue all commercial licenses would be transferred to the Transport Department, while non-commercial licenses would be issued by the traffic police.

Following this directive, the traffic police stopped issuing commercial licenses. However, the Transport Department continued to issue licenses for motorcycles, vehicles, etc, evidence of which will be presented to the government.

According to information received by The Express Tribune, the K-P Police have a comprehensive system in place for traffic licenses, operating in 35 districts. For the first time, an e-challan system and an online renewal system for overseas Pakistanis' driving licenses have also been introduced, allowing citizens abroad to obtain their driving licenses according to SOPs.

The special memorandum prepared for the government states that the traffic police have an audit system, including banking audits and internal audits, which the Transport Department lacks. The memorandum also reveals that the Transport Department issued fake licenses, which are currently under investigation by the FIA and other agencies.