Karachi Traffic Police have intensified warnings against the use of fake or tampered vehicle number plates, linking the rise in such practices to the rollout of the city’s automated e challan system. Deputy Inspector General Traffic Police Pir Muhammad Shah, speaking on Geo News programme Geo Pakistan, stated that altering or concealing vehicle number plates is a criminal offence and stressed that strict action should be taken against those involved. He said that since the introduction of automated enforcement, an increasing number of motorists have attempted to bypass fines by using counterfeit plates or obscuring identification numbers.
DIG Shah explained that the Traffic Regulation and Citation System, commonly referred to as TRACS, was launched on October 27 to replace the manual ticketing process with a fully automated e ticketing mechanism. The system relies on AI integrated CCTV cameras capable of detecting traffic violations such as over speeding, red light jumping, and helmet non compliance. According to the traffic police leadership, the objective of TRACS is to introduce transparency and consistency in enforcement while reducing human intervention. However, since its launch, the system has remained under public discussion, with critics raising concerns about whether Karachi currently has the infrastructure and road conditions required to support such advanced monitoring and enforcement technology at scale.
Addressing these concerns, DIG Shah acknowledged that no system can completely eliminate road accidents, noting that traffic incidents occur worldwide regardless of enforcement mechanisms. He said it would be unrealistic to expect accidents to stop entirely due to any single initiative. Despite this, he shared data indicating that traffic accidents in Karachi have declined by 50 percent since the e challan system became operational. He attributed this reduction to improved compliance and heightened awareness among motorists who now understand that violations are more likely to be detected automatically. He also reiterated that vehicles found with fake number plates or plates with hidden or altered numbers will be fined, adding that tampering with identification is treated as a criminal act under the law.
The enforcement drive is set to expand further with a citywide campaign against illegal number plates scheduled to begin on December 19. Additional Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho announced that the campaign will target vehicles using unauthorized or non standard number plates, and such vehicles will be seized during the operation. He said the initiative is being carried out in collaboration with the Excise Department to ensure coordinated action across enforcement and registration authorities. As part of the campaign, excise staff will be deployed on major arteries across Karachi, where vehicles will be stopped for inspection. Odho added that cases will also be registered against violators to reinforce compliance. Traffic police officials maintain that the combination of automated enforcement through TRACS and on ground crackdowns is intended to strengthen road safety, improve discipline, and discourage attempts to evade the digital traffic monitoring system now in place across the city.
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