The party said the demonstrations were also aimed at highlighting the loss of precious lives due to uncontrolled heavy traffic and urged authorities to urgently address road infrastructure and traffic enforcement concerns.
According to the announced schedule, sit-ins will be held at Star Gate on Sharea Faisal, Dawood Chowrangi, Korangi Crossing, Noorani Kabab House Chowrangi, Power House Chowrangi, Tibet Centre, University Road near Mausamiat, Dolmen Mall Hyderi, Liaquatabad No 10, Sohrab Goth, Orangi Town No 5, Hub River Road and Pracha Chowk in Sher Shah.
The protests come amid an ongoing debate over Karachi’s e challan system following the rollout of the Traffic Regulation and Citation System on October 27. The system replaced manual ticketing with automated e ticketing through AI integrated CCTV cameras to detect violations such as over speeding, red light jumping and helmet non compliance.
DIG Traffic Police Pir Muhammad Shah has said traffic accidents have dropped by 50 percent since the system was introduced, while adding that it is unrealistic to expect accidents to stop completely.
Earlier, in October, Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq submitted a resolution in the Sindh Assembly calling for an immediate review of the e challan system. He described the heavy fines as unjust and demanded the withdrawal of the notification imposing Rs5,000 penalties on motorcyclists.
He said Karachi’s roads are broken, signboards are missing and yet citizens are being punished, adding that this situation must end.
Karachi has witnessed numerous traffic accidents during the year, many of them fatal, with incidents of angry mobs torching vehicles involved. Recent months have also seen a series of high speed dumper truck accidents, intensifying public calls for stricter enforcement of traffic laws alongside major improvements in road infrastructure.
