Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) has fined about 45 VIPs, including minister, lawmakers, army officers, bureaucrats, during the current year for violation of traffic rules. Those fined include one provincial minister, three MNAs, three MPAs, six senators, two judges and 11 army officers. Drivers of five VIPs, three government officers, two VIP family members, one senior police officer, one navy officer, one air force officer, two federal secretaries, one additional secretary, two deputy secretaries and one joint secretary were among those fined. Most of the challan tickets were issued for speeding and lane violations. A senior official of ITP told this scribe that the department aimed to ensure protection of lives and properties of citizens. He said ITP had written to the Ministry of Interior in 2013 with repeated reminders to enhance the strength of capital’s traffic police to 2,200, which is currently 649, and which is insufficient to regulate traffic in the city. ITP has only 46 vehicles out of which 19 are out of order, he said. The ITP has proposed dividing the capital into seven zones, as Islamabad residential area and road network has expanded and its population was now almost double compared to 2005, he said. According to a census conduct a few months back, he said about 337,556 vehicles ply the busy roads of the capital daily, against just 20,000 in 2005. The official said resources of ITP were not increased accordingly, affecting its performance. The official said the department had introduced one-window operation to end long queues.