July 20, 2003	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 19, 1424

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MUZAFFARABAD, July 19: The computerized registration of around 50,000 official and private vehicles in Azad Jammu and Kashmir has been formally inaugurated by the federal minister incharge of the AJK Council Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao here on Friday.

Briefing the minister, the income tax commissioner and excise and taxation collector, Mohammad Munir Raja, said that the computerized registration was designed to check the theft of vehicles besides detecting the vehicles plying without paying the excise and customs duties.

He said the registration book and two reflective number- plates (front and rear), manufactured from aluminium sheet with Azad Kashmir’s monogram on them, would be provided for Rs570 to cars and jeeps, for Rs730 to buses and trucks and for Rs450 to rickshaws and motorcycles. Apart from that particular stickers, readable by laser beam, would also be affixed at the windscreens.

The number-plates of official, private and commercial vehicles would be in green, white and yellow colours, respectively, he added.

He said action would be taken against those owners who would not switch over to computerized registration of their vehicles within a stipulated timeframe.

The function was attended among others by AJK Prime Minister Sardar Sikandar Hayat Khan, AJK ministers and senior government officials.

Earlier, the federal minister also inaugurated the Income Tax Complex which was constructed at a cost of Rs13.37 million in the old city.

He asked the people to pay full taxes so that their government could have more funds for their uplift.

UNLICENSED MEDICAL STORES: Chief drugs inspector of Azad Kashmir Zulfiqar Hussain Shah has sent cases against nine unlicensed medical stores to a drug court besides seizing their medicines.

He told Dawn here on Friday that the unlicensed stores were detected in Chinari, Haitian Ball, Chikar, Domel Syedan and Ambore in district Muzaffarabad during surprise checking.

Mr Shah, who was accompanied by district drugs inspector Raja Mohammad Hanif, said he had also cancelled licences of two druggists because of the dilapidated condition of their stores. Similarly, he said, warnings were issued to six other store owners to improve the condition of their stores.

Mr Shah said he had also collected samples of suspected drugs from 20 medical stores and sent them to drug testing laboratory in Lahore.