LAHORE, Sept 3: The Punjab government is working on a plan for tracing and verifying identity of vehicles and their owners to curb their use for terrorism.

The National Database and Registration Authority (Narda) is also being approached for utilising its database for the verification process.

The system would be introduced as a pilot project in the provincial metropolis and then it would be expanded to other parts of the province.

In this connection, a meeting was held here on Tuesday with Law Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan in the chair that discussed various technologies that could be used for tracking vehicles.

During the meeting, representatives of the planning & development and excise & taxation departments favoured the use of automatic vehicle number plate recognition (AVNP) system, which employed close-circuit cameras to track a vehicle, said a participant.

They said the system was in operation in many developed countries, including USA, UK, France, etc. and could be implemented in Punjab in three to six months.

However, officials of security agencies recommended the radio frequency identification (RFID) system for tracing vehicles through scanners, the official said.

The agencies’ representatives argued that use of fixed chip in vehicles was more effective as number plate could be replaced and installed onto another vehicle of same make and model to bypass the security check. They supported the chip system as the gadget got damaged if someone tried to replace it, he added.

Rana Sana was quoted as having asked both sides to submit their respective recommendations in writing so that an early decision could be made in this regard. It showed the government was serious in introducing the counter-terrorism measure, the official said.