"DO you want to know how a normal person gets abnormal, how a person bears his insult with a smiling face, how a person laughs and weeps without any reason, how a person grows old at the age of 30, come and join the city traffic police, Rawalpindi?".

This text message is saved in the inbox of almost every traffic warden's cellphone.

Although the message looks funny, it has a considerable reality too.

We, the traffic wardens serving in Rawalpindi, are undergoing a severe mental torture. Our department has banned our weekend holiday.

We are performing our duties with the thinking that we have nothing to do with our parents, other members of the family and friends because wardens who belong to other districts can't go home.

However, wardens of Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujranwalw get a holiday in a week.

The wardens are being punished for being honest because there are cases when they did not let the erring persons, including influential ones, go before they are fined or booked.

At least 15 to 20 wardens are being suspended in a day on this ground.

We request the DIG ( traffic police) and the Inspector General of Police, Punjab, to look into the matter.

TRAFFIC WARDENS

City Traffic Police

Rawalpindi