Islamabad Traffic Police: Driven

No one is above the law on the streets of Islamabad

Equality before the law and accountability for violating it are one of the founding principles of justice and a healthy democracy. In Pakistan we usually see neither. However, over the past year, things have taken a turn in the right direction, at least on the streets of the federal capital. The Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has not only raised the bar for maintaining order on the streets but has also penalised those who have violated the traffic laws, regardless of their position, family name or political and economic clout.

According to official records, the ITP issued 886, 943 tickets between June 2013 and August 2014 — 1,244 of which were issued to politicians, military officials, diplomats, journalists, bureaucrats, judges, lawyers, members of Parliament, chief minister and governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa (K-P) as well as the former president of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Nearly 400% more tickets were issued to VIPs in 2013-14 as compared to last year (2012-13) and more than Rs270 million were also collected in fines, which showed a 630% increase compared to last year. According to Senior Superintendent Islamabad Traffic Police Malik Matloob, the 400% increase in tickets was a combination of the increase in the capital’s population and the number of vehicles on the road along with a revamping of the police system in the federal capital.



Equal before the law

Of all the VIPs booked for violating traffic laws, politicians took the lead. Official documents reveal that the traffic police ticketed 44 of the 104 lawmakers in the Upper House of the Parliament last year — some of whom were booked more than thrice. One hundred and thirty-five members of the Lower House of Parliament were also booked which adds up to nearly 40% of the members of National Assembly having violated traffic laws in one way or the other over the past year. Moreover, 13 federal ministers, three advisors to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and 44 members from the four provincial assemblies, 19 of which were provincial ministers were also booked. Half of those booked were from the K-P Assembly. Majority of those booked were penalised for violating traffic signals while some were ticketed for speed driving. Most of the violators belong to rural backgrounds and had little knowledge of traffic rules.

Next in line were military officers. Out of 1,244 tickets, more than 450 were issued to top military officers including major generals, brigadiers, colonels, majors and captains. More than 49 officers from the Pakistan Navy and 50 officers from the Pakistan Air Force were also ticketed for violating traffic signals or over-speeding.

The ITP also ticketed nearly 91 diplomats — who generally enjoy diplomatic immunity — 30 of whom were ambassadors  or high commissioners. Moreover, 31 top secretaries, 15 additional secretaries, 27 joint secretaries, 18 deputy secretaries, 34 people from the judiciary and 32 journalists were also booked. Ninety-one senior government officers and eight celebrities were also fined.



Those who control traffic and law and order in the city were not given a free pass either. Thirty-five police officers were ticketed, something that rarely happens in police forces, according to Shams Gill, the ITP spokesperson.

According to the 1965 Motor Vehicle Ordinance, if a person violates a traffic law, a police officer or a government-authorised person may draw a charge against him on the spot stating the offence. The police officer or the authorised person shall draw the charge on five copies of Form-J and immediately deliver three copies of the form to the accused and get acknowledgement. The fourth copy and the seized documents such as the driving license, national identity card and registration documents for the vehicle should be forwarded to the bank branch, the post office or the traffic sector office from where the accused may collect his documents once they pay the fine which can range anywhere between Rs200 to Rs500 depending on the nature of the violation.



Senior superintendent Asmatullah Junejo shares that most of the VIPs were very cooperative and even appreciated the traffic police for their efforts. He recalls Pervez Khattak, chief minister for K-P lauding the efficiency of the traffic police when he was ticketed. Similarly, Maryam Nawaz, daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was also cooperative when she was booked. “I am glad that our police is taking the law seriously and treating everyone equally,” Junejo recalls her statement at the time.

There were, however, exceptions such as Akram Khan Durrani, federal minister for housing and works in K-P, who was extremely rude and abusive towards the traffic warden. “No one has dared to book me since I became a minister. How dare you do this today,” Junejo recalls Durrani’s statement. A few days later, his son Zuhaib Durrani was also booked for traffic law violations who abused the police officers until his vehicle was shifted to the Aabpara police station using his father’s influence, shares another officer who wishes to remain anonymous. Ayaz Soomro, a member of the National Assembly also unleashed his wrath on the police officer when he booked him. “It’s unfair that you guys book lawmakers. I never saw this practice in Sindh,” the police officer who booked Soomro recalls his statement.



Despite multiple attempts, none of the figures quoted above, except Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, agreed to share their version on the record. Yousaf too shifted the blame for being ticketed onto his driver who was behind the wheel at the time.

Taking the law in your hands

According to human rights activist Zafarullah Khan, the massive number of traffic law violations by the VIPs was an alarming sign. He added that selective enforcement of law leads to frustration which results in further violations. When lawmakers violate laws, it discourages those who abide by the rules and also leads to a loss of trust in lawmakers, says Asad Chaudhry, an Islamabad resident. It also gives public the impression that the lawmakers are above the law. “If the ITP has adopted a uniform approach in implementation of law, it must be appreciated,” says Khan. Senator Sahibzada Saifullah Magsi also called the equal treatment of citizens by the police “a positive trend”. He added that it was their responsibility as lawmakers to set an example for the public but unfortunately what happens on the streets is quite the opposite.



In order to ensure that the current discipline on the roads is maintained, Magsi suggests that the fine should be increased further so that citizens are forced to follow the laws. He added that the system of issuing driving licenses should also be improved and traffic rules should be made a regular feature of the public service broadcast by the ITP. Traffic wardens who sometimes misuse their power should also be kept in check, says Aamir Abdullah, an Islamabad resident who appreciates the ITP’s efforts but does not want it to become prey to the usual corruption, inefficiency and nepotism that is associated with most government-run organisations.

Order on the streets

The improved law and order on the streets of the federal capital can be largely attributed to the efficiency of the ITP. The department was set up by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in 2007 to emulate the success of the National Highways and Motorways Police, which has been functioning effectively since 1997. Over the next few years, the ITP came to be known for being corruption free and unbiased towards citizens. It was also awarded the ISO 9001 certification in 2008 for introducing state-of-the-art driver’s license, new laws that prohibited using mobile phone while driving and made it mandatory to wear a seat belt while driving along with client-oriented policing service in Pakistan.



The ITP is the only police organisation in South Asia that has its own FM 92.4 radio station which uses radio programmes to educate people about safer driving practices and also guides motorists on the most suitable routes that can be used to reach their destination safely and quickly. The purpose of the radio station is to educate and entertain commuters, shares Aisha Jamil, the programme director at FM 92.4 who has been involved with the initiative since the beginning. “I always encourage new and ambitious people to join hands with us in guiding the public,” she says.

Half of the fine money collected from traffic law violators also goes to the ITP, a major chunk of which goes towards imparting safety education while the rest is utilised according to the needs of the department at the time and the situation in the city. The department conducts regular seminars and public campaigns to raise awareness about traffic rules and holds classes for public drivers to inculcate the importance of driving safely. Signboards and huge screens with safety messages have also been installed across the main routes in the city. Till date, the ITP has conducted 95 driver courses, educated 951 public service vans and organised 249 sessions with 6,828 taxi drivers at the traffic complex. The traffic police helpline (915) has also registered more than 5,010 complaints and took action on 3,134 complaints during the past year.



Additional Inspector General Police (Operation) Dr Sultan Azam says that they are consistently striving to not only maintain the department’s current efficiency level but also improve the standard further. “We hope to build upon the good image that the organisation has achieved under the current leadership,” he adds. According to former Director General National Police Bureau Afzal Ali Shigri, since ITP’s performance has been better compared to other cities, the same model — which allows the department to function independently of outside interferences — should be extended to other mega cities as well.

Zahid Gishkori is a 2014 Alfred Friendly/Daniel Pearl fellow and a national correspondent for The Express Tribune. He tweets @ZahidGishkori

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 7^th, 2014.