LAHORE: IG Punjab Faisal Shahkar has inaugurated a new ‘Smart 24/7 Licencing Centre’ of the City Traffic Police Lahore (CTPL), making it the first centre to provide licences and other related facilities round the clock to citizens.

An inaugural ceremony was held at the Manawan Police Lines where CCPO Ghulam Mahmood Dogar and City Traffic Officer (CPO) Muntazer Mehdi briefed the IG about the much-awaited scheme.

Speaking on the occasion, the IG said the new centre would help address the complaint of delay in issuing driving licences and other related facilities as it would work 24/7.Particularly, it would help those citizens who were unable to visit other centres of the traffic police during day/official time, he said.

The IG directed the CTO Lahore that the process of issuance of driving licence should be made free of hassles for citizens.He said the driving licence services should be provided to the elderly and women on a priority basis.

He directed the police officers to utilise the Punjab Safe City cameras to improve traffic management in Lahore.

The CTO said facilities like new, international, learner permit, duplicate, renewal or licence verification would be available at the centre which would be fully transparent through Queumatic Management System.

Mr Mehdi said currently 22 learners booths and six driving testing centres were operating in Lahore in addition to a licencing centre established at the Liberty, Gulberg, for the women.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2022