KARACHI, June 22: The government is establishing a National Motor Vehicle Authority to deal with matters of vehicle registration and thefts.

This was stated by Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider during a visit to the Anti-Car Lifting Cell (ACLC) here on Saturday.

The government, Mr Haider said was also planning to introduce a new system of vehicle number plates which would be different in colours and numbers in all the four provinces to distinguish them from on another as well as help check the cases of car theft.

The minister asked the ACLC to arrange seminars, press conferences and discussions to highlight the aims of this cell and provide information to people to help curb vehicle heft through electronic and print media.

The Capital City Police chief, Asad Jehangir, briefed the Interior Minister on the working of ACLC.

He said the cell was working on scientific lines and computerized database of vehicles in Sindh.

He said that during January-May 2002, the cell busted an inter-provincial car-lifter’s gang, caught 223 car lifters, detected 208 cases and recovered 123 cars and 63 motorcycles.

Asad Jehangir said that out of 223 the suspects arrested, 77 were from Karachi, 43 from the interior of Sindh, 20 from Punjab, 43 from Balochistan, 19 from the NWFP and 21 included Bengali-speaking.

He said at least three suspects were postgraduate, 27 matriculate, 56 non-matric, three were educated from religious institutions and 85 others.

He said to control this menace, more time would be given to snap-checking in the city’s outlying areas such as Mochko, Dhabeji etc.

He said checking on Super Highway might have already been started.—APP