LAHORE: Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has reportedly expressed displeasure at criminalising the college/school-going students in the ongoing province-wide crackdown on traffic rules violators and restrained the traffic police from harassing the children.

The sources said that the CM issued instructions, saying that “now no student or underage children will be handcuffed”.

Some critics compared the Punjab traffic police’s crackdown on the youngsters with the laptop scheme launched by the chief minister, saying the FIRs registered against students would keep hunting them for the rest of their lives.

An official, privy to the development, said disturbing scenes were witnessed on Monday in various district courts of the province where the children were brought to be produced before the courts and their parents reached along with their lawyers to secure the bails. The families of the children came hard on the Punjab’s traffic police high-ups and bashed them for launching an ‘extremely ruthless operation’ against the children in the name of the drive against traffic violations.

Traffic high-ups for action against parents, not children

As per the reports, the parents’ outcry remained the talk of the town when social media platforms made the video clips viral, showing the youngsters in police custody in and outside the courts.

The families of the children expressed strong resentments after they came to know that the police action and the criminal record would have repercussions on the future of the students when they would go for jobs. Talking to media outside the courts, many lawyers called for alternative disciplinary measures and stricter policies to prevent the ‘criminalisation’ of students.

The official source said that following the CM’s instructions, Additional IG Traffic Police Punjab Waqas Nazeer ordered the officers across the province to stop arresting the students or other children during the crackdown. Instead of targeting the students for violating traffic laws, he directed the officers to take action against their parents or other caretakers for giving them bikes or vehicles.

On the other hand, the City Traffic Police Lahore claimed to have intensified the crackdown on the police personnel for violating traffic rules.

A spokesperson for the department said that some 149 motorbikes and vehicles of the police officials and officers were impounded by the traffic police in the city during the last 72 hours for not paying e-challans. They were released after the police officials/officers paid the fine fee, he said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2025