IT is common knowledge that many political office-holders and bureaucrats have more than one official vehicle mostly big cars like SUVs and such, which are being used by the official and their family members.

Many bureaucrats do not surrender these vehicles on relinquishing office while some people, when their department is changed and they get a new car, keep the old ones as well.

In many instances, they don’t just keep the car but the drivers. Auctioning off 80 odd vehicles at Prime Minister House is not enough. There are several more that need to be taken care of.

A proper and strict stocktaking of all government vehicles in Pakistan, federal as well as all provincial, including all autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies, should be carried out and all surplus vehicles must be auctioned -- apart from taking exemplary disciplinary action against all those using unauthorised government vehicles, be it civil or military officials.

Col Syed Riaz Jafri

Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018