You may have noticed the convoys of heads of states, the president and prime minister's movements and the chief justice of Pakistan's security protocol. The heavy security clamp and protocol provided to all VVIPs is always according to the 'Blue Book' of the government that carries SOP (standard operating procedures). You may have also seen the convoys of VIPs, including provincial governors, chief ministers, federal ministers and other government functionaries, being escorted by the police vehicles blaring sirens with a police pilot squad clearing the road in advance. In addition, roads are blocked sometimes for a short time and sometimes for quite long to ensure safe and uninterrupted movement of the convoys.

If you happen to travel on Islamabad Expressway, Airport Road and Soan in the morning or in the afternoon, you will witness a heavy black bulletproof vehicle with tinted glasses being escorted by heavily armed private guards with another security vehicle moving on its left.

Commonly, traffic rules in the twin cities are very strict, road users are bound to obey them and there are strict fines for the violators. But sadly, one must admit that there are no traffic rules in Rawalpindi and Islamabad especially for private convoys. Who are these people who don't care for the traffic rules and even police watch them helplessly?

A citizen, who routinely travels between Rawalpindi and Islamabad for dropping his daughters at their school and picking them in the afternoon, said driving on the Islamabad Expressway was an ordeal when the private convoy was on the move.

“Who is inside the heavy vehicle is not known to me but I am sure he can't be a government functionary, because when the convoy passes by it is quite a terrible experience for anyone traveling on the road,” he said.

“As the speeding convoy approaches without realising that other people including women and schoolchildren are also on the road, its vehicles start blowing horns.

The heavily armed men travelling in two separate cars some time literally aim their guns at vehicles causing a slight delay in giving them way,” he said.

Whoever was inside the vehicle must be enjoying a pleasure ride but it left not a good image on the mind of the children, he added.

Some distinguished personalities also feel pleasure in travelling in long cavalcades comprising security and protocol personnel. A senior police official said it was not only the particular person who moved with private armed guards violating traffic rules but there were also some politicians who travelled with heavily armed gunmen.The superintendent of traffic police, Syed Ishtiaq Hussain Shah says it is the job of the district police to check such a violation of rules. “We have neither provided pilot nor police squad to any private person,” he said.

“We do stop traffic for a minimum time, from five to seven minutes only, during VVIP movements and completely close link roads but traffic keeps on moving on the other track,” the SP said.

It is often claimed by the police that all citizens are treated equally as far as traffic rules and laws are concerned. Recently, the Islamabad Traffic Police issued ticket to a car for speeding in which a son of the chief justice of Pakistan was travelling. But it is also a fact that sometimes policemen face penalty for issuing tickets to the SP rank officers.

Why people who don't obey traffic rules and display arms publicly can't be checked when the son of the CJP and others are fined?