Ajrak number plate policy is final, says Sindh Minister

KARACHI: Sindh Excise and Taxation Minister Mukesh Chawla said on Wednesday that the government will not reverse its decision to implement security-featured Ajrak number plates under any circumstances.

In an interview, the minister stated that the Sindh government has been issuing these security-featured number plates since 2021. Mukesh Kumar Chawla stated that all motorcycle and vehicle owners must use these number plates. He accused certain ‘linguistic groups’ of politicising the issue by linking the security-featured number plates with the Ajrak.

“These tactics are being used to spread division,” he added.

Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that Ajrak represents Sindh’s culture and questioned why anyone would find it offensive. He added that the number plates also display Mazar-e-Quaid and the Sindh government’s logo.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government’s decision to enforce Sindh number plates on all licensed vehicles has sparked frustration and unrest among Karachi residents.

The initiative aimed to control vehicle theft and improve tax collection, but it has led to long wait times, delays in plate issuance, and stricter traffic enforcement.

Official statistics show that Karachi has 3.5 million registered motorcycles and 2.3 million registered cars, turning the rollout of new plates into a major operational challenge.

Even though the task holds importance, the Excise Department has failed to provide clear guidelines, leaving citizens at the mercy of traffic police. In just two months, traffic authorities have issued over 52,000 challans.

In recent days, authorities have seized more than 12,000 vehicles and bikes for not complying with the new Sindh number plate policy, and traffic police have issued numerous challans across Karachi.

Citizens visiting the Civic Centre say officials turned them away, citing delays in number plate production. One Excise official admitted that while they requested only 500 motorbike plates over the past two months, applicants filed more than 5,000 requests within just 10 days.

The new Sindh number plates, priced at Rs 1,850 for motorcycles and Rs 2,450 for cars, have sparked public criticism. Many citizens argue that they have already paid registration fees and should not be charged again.

Political leaders, including MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar and Jamaat-e-Islami’s Munem Zafar Khan, have condemned the move, calling it “systematic extortion.”

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