Due to a significant surge in citizens seeking driving licenses, the traffic police department increased its facilities to 33 to accommodate the demand.
However, there were reports of the Lahore police misusing the campaign by filing cases against citizens/drivers with learning or expired licenses. Higher authorities intervened, halting the registration of FIRs against these individuals.
Lahore Chief Traffic Officer (CTO) Capt Mustansar Feroze expressed displeasure over FIRs against those with learning or expired licenses in a viral audio message. He directed traffic police to focus on underage drivers or those without licenses.
During the last three days, Lahore CTP issued over 60,000 licenses at all 33 centers. The Punjab police cracked down on underage drivers province-wide after a tragic accident in Lahore. The accident prompted the chief minister of Punjab to take massive action, resulting in 4,373 FIRs against underage drivers and 3,234 cases against those without licenses in Lahore since Nov 11.
This police action led to a significant increase in license issuance, with a daily average of 11,236 licenses in the last month—788 percent more than the corresponding period last year.
To handle the rush, all Police Khidmat Markazs were made operational 24/7, and the number of mobile Khidmat Markazs increased to 10. Anticipating an increase to 600,000 licenses by December, CTO Mustansar Feroze expanded services to citizens’ doorsteps, deploying 11 Mobile Learner Vans.
The traffic police department also planned to establish three more driving testing centers in Cantonment, Kahna, and Shahdara. Notably, the department addressed the high demand at Liberty Chowk with additional resources, including more mobile learner vans, counters, and sitting capacity.
CTO Lahore emphasized the importance of driving licenses, contrasting practices in developed countries with the rampant issue of driving without licenses or underage driving in Pakistan. He highlighted the criminal mindset revealed by the fact that only 1.3 million driving licenses were issued against 7.3 million registered vehicles in Lahore. The recent campaign, triggered by the DHA fatal accident, played a crucial role in encouraging citizens to obtain licenses, although there is still progress to be made to match the total registered vehicles.
