A staggering 3,896 official vehicles belonging to senior bureaucrats and police officers have been found violating traffic laws in Lahore, according to a recent report by the City Traffic Police (CTP). The findings reveal a troubling trend: top government officials are breaking traffic rules at a higher rate than ordinary citizens, with many vehicles racking up multiple violations and unpaid fines.
The report, compiled using data from Punjab Safe City cameras, highlights that vehicles used by high-ranking officials—including the Inspector General of Police, Lahore Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, and Directors General of the FIA, Pakistan Post, Agriculture, Excise and Taxation, Punjab Food Authority, Health Services, and Lesco—were among the most frequent offenders. Additional chief secretaries and other senior officers were also named in the report.
The Punjab Police topped the list, with 496 of its vehicles caught violating traffic laws, followed by 358 vehicles from the Services & General Administration Department and 328 from the Lahore Electricity Supply Company (Lesco). Other departments with high numbers of violations include Wapda (300 vehicles), Livestock & Dairy Department (184), PTCL (181), SNGPL (130), and the Irrigation Department (122).
Some vehicles have become serial offenders. One car (LRZ 6076), used by a Superintendent of Police, was recorded violating traffic laws 107 times, accumulating Rs50,300 in unpaid fines. Another vehicle (LZR 9872), under the Punjab Agriculture DG, committed 83 violations with Rs74,000 in outstanding fines. An official car (LWQ 1235) belonging to the Additional Chief Secretary (S&GAD) Punjab racked up 47 violations and Rs21,300 in unpaid fines, while seven other vehicles linked to the same officer were caught 65 times.
The CTP report also lists vehicles from the Chief Minister’s Monitoring Cell, Law and Parliamentary Affairs, Pakistan Railways, Punjab Revenue Authority, PTCL, National Highways Authority, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines, Environment Protection Department, Lahore Development Authority, and many more among the violators.
Despite repeated e-challan tickets and official letters, most fines remain unpaid. The traffic police have written to the relevant departments, urging them to identify the violators and settle the outstanding dues. Lahore Chief Traffic Officer Athar Waheed has escalated the matter to Chief Secretary Zahid Akthar Zaman and IGP Dr Usman Anwar, requesting their intervention to curb the law-breaking culture among government officials.
In stark contrast, ordinary citizens continue to face strict enforcement. Over the past 10 days alone, the traffic police have registered 4,541 FIRs against citizens for traffic violations in Lahore, with many offenders arrested on the spot.
