AS was always expected, the Sindh government’s recent decision to replace the number plates of all vehicles at the motorists’ cost in a short span of time has created a furore on the streets.

The government has not been able to deliver hundreds of thousands of such number plates, but the traffic police, as if they have nothing to do with the govern-ment, have started harassing the hapless motorists who have been unable to obtain these number plates despite repeated visits to the Sindh Motor Registration Wing.

The justification of urgently changing the previous officially issued number plates is questionable, especially when there are more critical unaddressed issues, like street crimes, water scarcity, damaged roads and inadequate healthcare facilities, that require a higher sense of urgency by the government.

It is also unjust to ask those motorists who have already paid for the old number plates to pay the government again for the new ones. The strip of ajrak on the number plates has itself created a controversy as nowhere in the world do the vehicle number plates carry a cultural or ethnic symbol on them.

Most countries require the number plates to be of reflective material, with a specified font design and to be readable by security cameras. The ajrak theme is not a security feature, it is a design element that actually takes away the space available for the placement of the registration number.

Besides, the premium number plates that were recently auctioned among the elite at astronomical prices have a totally different design without the ajrak strip on it. If the government wants standar-disation of number plates in the province, especially owing to some perceived security concerns, why does a different number plate design exist for the wealthy and the powerful? Does the government want to create a divide in society even on the basis of registration number plates?

Instead of hurriedly imposing the new number plates on the public, the govern-ment should give a realistic timeline for obtaining these by the year-end. Besides, the motorists should not be made to bear this additional financial burden.

Finally, the traffic police force should be directed not to issue challans to the vehicles carrying the old number plates until all the new ajrak-themed number plates have been physically issued by the Sindh Excise and Taxation Department.

Aamir Malik
Karachi

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2025