ISLAMABAD: The owners of vehicles, especially those registered outside Islamabad, are facing hardship while entering the federal capital as the capital administration has started confiscating their documents on different pretexts.

Besides, the vehicles of those who put up resistance against the move are also being confiscated with the help of the police, some of the affected owners said.

They said the officials of the capital administration and the excise and taxation office (ETO) had been deployed at all the entry points of the capital along with the police to check the documents of the vehicles.

They were especially focusing those vehicles which carried the registration plates issued from other districts, especially in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The officials confiscate the documents on different pretexts, including for non-payment of taxes, ownership and for checking their authenticity.

Drivers say capital administration confiscating their documents on different pretexts

The owners were being asked to visit the excise and taxation office the next day to collect their documents if they were found genuine. At the office, the owners were asked to pay Rs200 to Rs500 for the ‘verification’ of the documents.

However, the fee collection was not being documented, so there was the possibility that it may not be deposited in the national exchequer, they added.

Malik Amjad, a resident of Lahore, told Dawn that he came to Islamabad on a business trip and his car’s documents were confiscated on the pretext of verification. “The next day I visited the ETO where I was asked to pay Rs300 for the verification of the papers.”

A resident of Multan, Sajid Ali, said his car was confiscated at the Industrial Area police station though he had original documents. “May be my resistance against the move and the reason for coming to Islamabad to participate in the PTI sit-in annoyed the officials,” he added.

When contacted, no official in the capital administration and police was ready to speak on record about the matter.

However, on the condition of anonymity, a number of officials told Dawn that the step was taken to create hurdles for those who come to join the sit-ins of the PTI and PAT.

But a senior officer of the capital administration on the condition of anonymity said the step was taken to intercept the entry of vehicles without papers or those having forged documents and tampered with engine and chassis number for security purpose.

He said the officials were not directed to confiscate any genuine vehicle or document.

“If they are confiscating vehicles having genuine documents, it is unjustified,” he added.

Published in Dawn, August 27th , 2014