SHC orders excise dept to issue pending number plates.

KARACHI -- The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered on Tuesday the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department to issue pending number plates for vehicles in Karachi.

Hearing a plea seeking the issuance of the number plates, a two-member bench, comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Yousuf Ali Sayeed, was informed that number plates for vehicles in the city had not been issued for the past two years.

The petitioner's counsel, Advocate Asim Iqbal, claimed that at least 200,000 to 300,000 vehicles in Karachi were not issued number plates and owners of the vehicles lacking number plates were often 'harassed by traffic police officials.'

At this, Justice Mazhar inquired, 'What is the traffic police DIG doing [in this regard]?'

Motorists' woes: 200,000 cars still wait for their registration plates in Sindh

The DIG's spokesperson informed the court that only vehicles bearing fancy number plates were flagged down by traffic police officials. The court was also told that steps had been taken to issue the number plates and 7,000 number plates were being prepared.

'What difference will just 7,000 number plates make considering that none were issued over the past two years,' the court remarked. It further inquired why the vehicles were flagged down when the owners had been issued registration certificates.

At this, the government lawyer maintained that the traffic police DIG had issued new directives, pertaining to the matter, for the officials.

The court directed the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department to issue pending number plates for the vehicles immediately and restricted traffic police officials from flagging down vehicles and 'harassing citizens' who had been issued registration certificates.

Judges' appointment

Meanwhile, a bench headed by SHC Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh and comprising Justice Omar Sial ordered the federal law secretary to issue the notification for the appointment of judges, as recommended by SHC, in two of the accountability courts.

Rebuking the secretary over the failure to issue the notification, Justice Shaikh asked him as to why the notification was not issued for the appoinAtment of judges proposed by the court.

'Who are you to appoint the judges of your choice, ignoring the names we proposed? Under which law did you approve the appointment of judges not recommended by the court?' he admonished.

At this, the secretary replied that as per the law, the chief justice of a high court could only...