ISLAMABAD: The practice of waiving the learner period for driving licenses for applicants recommended by ‘selective influencers’ and the ‘tout mafia’ has been restricted following complaints of misuse.
Talking to Dawn, police officers said last week that senior police officials directed the Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) to stop waiving the learner period, commonly known as LPC (Learner Period Condonation), after widespread misuse for financial gain was reported.
In September, the ITP issued warnings to motorists driving without licenses, urging them to obtain the required documentation to avoid legal action, including registration of cases.
In response, a large number of motorists approached the ITP to acquire driving licenses. At the same time, the ITP initiated legal action against those without licenses, registering several cases along with other traffic violations, despite driving without a license being a compoundable offense under the Motor Vehicle Ordinance (MWO).
On October 8 and 9, the ITP registered 33 cases of motorists driving without licenses. Following this, a petition was filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the ITP’s decision to arrest drivers or file criminal cases for driving without licenses.
The IHC ruled that registering criminal cases or impounding vehicles for driving without a valid license was an excessive and unlawful measure that undermined citizens’ rights and the principle of proportionality in law enforcement.
Despite the court ruling, the aggressive enforcement by the ITP prompted motorists to obtain driving licenses, creating opportunities for ‘touts’ and the ‘mafia’ to demand money from license seekers to expedite the process.
The learner permit is the first step toward obtaining a driving license and its duration of 42 days is mandatory under the MWO.
However, in practice, SSPs and SPs of the traffic police often waived the learner period, allowing applicants to obtain a driving permit the same day.
These officers were granted verbal authority to waive the learner period after reviewing the applicant’s reason for requesting LPC.
For approved applicants, the SSP or SP would mark LPC on the permit, sign it, and emboss their stamp. However, during a three-month period, officers’ stamps were also used to waive the learner period in bulk, often in the evenings.
Officials said that 79,390 learner permits were issued between September and November.
The learning period for the majority, over 80 per cent, was waived under recommendations from various influencers and the tout mafia. Of the total 48,327 candidates who passed both the theory and road tests, only 31,551 driving licenses were issued.
Officers confirmed that applicants often paid substantial amounts to those who recommended them for LPC, while the business of influencers and touts flourished, attracting residents from other districts to Islamabad to obtain licenses quickly and without hurdles.
During the same three months, the ITP focused primarily on issuing licenses and registering cases against traffic violators for offenses such as driving the wrong way, over-speeding, and one-way violations.
However, violations like not wearing seat belts or using mobile phones while driving were largely ignored. Motorcyclists were frequently observed without helmets.
A senior police officer, when contacted, confirmed that LPC misuse prompted restrictions.
He added that some touts were identified at the ITP headquarters and that a case had been registered against one of them. Surveillance has also been increased at ITP headquarters to monitor and curb the activities of touts and influencers exploiting the licensing process.
Published in Dawn, December 18th, 2025