The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has announced sit-ins across Karachi at 5pm on Friday (today) against damaged roads and what it called “oppressive” e-challans.
The party said the protests were also against the loss of precious lives linked to out-of-control heavy traffic, and urged authorities to address road conditions and enforcement concerns.
According to the schedule, sit-ins will be held at Star Gate (Sharea Faisal), Dawood Chowrangi, Korangi Crossing, Noorani Kabab House Chowrangi, Power House Chowrangi, Tibet Centre, University Road (Mausamiat), Dolmen Mall Hyderi, Liaquatabad No 10, Sohrab Goth, Orangi Town No 5, Hub River Road and Pracha Chowk (Sher Shah).
The protests come amid debate over Karachi’s e-challan system following the rollout of the Traffic Regulation and Citation System (TRACS) on October 27.
It replaced manual ticketing with automated e-ticketing using 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 decreased by 50% since the e-challan system’s implementation, while noting it is unrealistic to expect accidents to stop entirely.
In October, in the Sindh Assembly, Jamaat-e-Islami MPA Muhammad Farooq submitted a resolution demanding an immediate review of the e-challan system. He termed the heavy fines “unjust” and called for the withdrawal of the notification imposing Rs5,000 penalties on motorcyclists.
“Karachi’s roads are broken, signboards are missing, yet citizens are being punished — this must stop,” he said.
Karachi has seen scores of traffic accidents in the ongoing year, often resulting in fatalities, with angry mobs torching vehicles involved on multiple occasions.
Recent months have also seen a series of high-speed dumper truck accidents causing deaths and injuries, prompting authorities to announce safety measures and intensifying calls for stricter enforcement of traffic laws and major improvements to the city’s road infrastructure.
