Karachi is boiling. An aggressive police crackdown on “unauthorized” number plates has led to chaos on the streets, massive public outrage, and accusations of government extortion. Thousands of cars and bikes are being fined, impounded, or towed—while citizens face endless delays and a broken system.
In just 10 days, over 6,000 people rushed to the Civic Centre to apply for the new provincial plates—only to be turned away due to massive backlogs. The Excise Department, clearly unprepared, is swamped with applications, while traffic police are out in full force, slapping fines and towing over 12,000 vehicles.
“There’s no law saying it must be provincial!” shouted a frustrated motorist. Others went further, accusing officers of “harassment quotas.”
To add insult to injury, the new plates cost Rs1,850 for bikes and Rs2,450 for cars—despite many applicants claiming they already paid for them earlier. The growing outcry includes demands for mobile camps across the city to ease the chaos.
Politicians are jumping in too. MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar called the campaign a “new extortion tactic,” alleging millions in daily bribes. Jamaat-e-Islami’s Munem Zafar Khan echoed the criticism, calling it a case of “zero service, maximum taxation.”
With over 52,000 challans issued in just two months, Karachiites are calling the campaign unjust, unmanageable, and unbearable.
