MUZAFFARABAD: With road accidents frequently claiming lives in the mountainous areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), traffic police have urged educational institutions to ensure the fitness of privately hired vehicles and credentials of drivers before taking students on study tours and recreational trips.
In an advisory issued to heads of educational institutions on Saturday, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic), Muzaffarabad region, Mohammad Ishaq called for the use of vehicles carrying valid fitness certificates and insurance, with all relevant documents in order.
He also advised school and college administrations to hire drivers holding valid heavy or public service vehicle licences, having at least five years of driving experience and a clean traffic record.
The advisory stressed that vehicles should not carry students or staff beyond their authorised seating capacity, while carrying passengers or luggage on bus rooftops was strictly prohibited.
It further called for ensuring the availability of first-aid boxes, fire extinguishers and functional emergency exits in vehicles used for such trips.
The traffic police also advised institutions to plan return journeys in a way that avoided night-time travel and periods of dense fog, particularly when visiting mountainous areas, where travelling during daylight hours was preferable.
Educational institutions were also asked to contact local traffic police or motorway police before departure to obtain information about road conditions and weather along the intended route. The motorway police helpline is 130, while emergency assistance can be sought through 15,the advisory said.
Civil society activists, however, pointed out that besides ensuring the fitness of vehicles, which primarily fell within the purview of the government’s transport department, improving road infrastructure was equally important to reducing accident risks.
They said the installation of protective parapets along vulnerable stretches, widening of dangerous turns and other engineering measures to make accident-prone roads safer were the responsibility of the highways department.
Naila Altaf Kayani, a prominent civil society activist,said it had almost become a ritual for the authorities to announce crackdowns on unfit vehicles after every fatal accident, but such drives rarely appeared to be sustained.
“Announcements of crackdowns alone cannot prevent accidents. They must be followed by consistent enforcement, alongside improvements in road infrastructure, to achieve lasting results,” she said.
Ms Kayani urged the government to ensure that all three departments — traffic police, transport and highways — discharged their respective responsibilities, saying a coordinated approach was essential to reducing the risk of road accidents.
Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2026
