When traffic accidents began rising sharply in the metropolis, the government and traffic authorities introduced the e-challan system under the Safe City Project, hoping that electronic fines and enhanced surveillance would improve road discipline and bring a noticeable change in the situation. As part of the initiative, around 1,200 cameras were installed across the city to monitor law violations.
However, despite these efforts, conditions in Karachi remain largely unchanged. Citizens complain that the surveillance cameras often malfunction or send incorrect e-challans. For instance, motorcycle owners have received fines for their vehicles stolen 10 years ago, or car owners have been fined for cars sold years prior.
The most recent example involves a public transport bus: the bus owner challenged an e-challan in court after a camera recorded the vehicle travelling at 160 kilometres per hour (km/h), even though the bus’s speedometer only allows 120 km/h. This has raised serious doubts about the reliability of the installed system.
The e-challan system also did not improve the accidents incidence as traffic accidents continue at an alarming rate. During the first 70 days of 2026, 206 people were killed in road accidents across the city, including 147 men, 29 women, 21 boys, and nine girls, while 2,080 others were injured.
Of the 206 fatalities, 67 involved heavy vehicles, with the highest number of incidents occurring due to trailer collisions.
According to Chhipa Foundation spokesperson Chaudhry Shahid, 1,633 men, 336 women, 81 boys, and 30 girls were injured in traffic accidents across Karachi so far this year.
Meanwhile, street crime also remains rampant despite installation of hundreds of cameras. Even during the holy month of Ramazan, incidents of car, motorcycle and mobile phone snatching continued.
The Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) reported that in February alone, 22 cars were snatched at gunpoint and 143 cars stolen, totalling 165 vehicles lost by citizens. Additionally, 452 motorcycles were snatched at gunpoint and 2,726 others stolen.
A total of 27 extortion cases were reported, and 40 people were killed in firing and other criminal incidents. Armed robbers also snatched 1,237 mobile phones, yet police have still failed to arrest many suspects.
Killings during robberies have also not stopped causing fear among the citizens. So far this year, around 15 people have lost their lives after resisting robberies, and dozens more have been injured. However, police encounters with suspected criminals continue, in which suspects are injured or killed.
Despite 1,200 cameras and the e-challan system, and the continued crackdown on street crime, Karachi residents say that neither traffic enforcement nor police encounters have brought lasting safety, as both road accidents and street crime continue unabated.
