AN estimated 100,000 to 200,000 vehicles with fraudulent credentials unabashedly roam around in Karachi. These vehicles are either never registered or have not paid the annual road tax for the last several years.

They either carry fake number plates, personalised number plates, foreign number plates or AFR (applied for registration) number plates. In many cases, they illegally convert their number plates to government number plates by painting them green and writing the words ‘Government of Sindh’ or ‘Government of Pakistan’ on them.

Sindh has no mechanism, organisation, capacity or will to check this widespread crime that not only deprives the state of its lawful taxes but is also deeply linked to crime and militancy. Hundreds of photographs of such vehicles taken by citizens and regularly sent to the police and the Sindh government have failed to make any impact.

The Sindh chief minister should look into this matter on an urgent basis and create necessary organisation and mechanisms to put an end to this unchecked fraud.

Naeem Sadiq
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2020