Amid sharp public reaction to the newly introduced e-challan system in Karachi, the Jamaat-e-Islami has decided to approach the higher courts to seek relief for the citizens.

In this regard, JI Karachi chief Munam Zafar and others have filed a petition in the Sindh High Court challenging the e-challan system introduced by the PPP government.

According to the petition filed by Advocate Usman Farooq, traffic fines are being issued through an automated system based on surveillance cameras and artificial intelligence, which sends e-challans to vehicle owners regardless of who was driving at the time of the violation.

The petition claimed that the e-challan system had been enforced without improving road infrastructure, ownership verification of vehicles, or installation of proper road signs.

He contended that increasing fines by up to a thousand times, suspending driving licences, or blocking national identity cards were unlawful measures.

The petition further stated that many vehicles in Karachi and across Sindh are being driven on open letters, while the excise department’s records still list previous owners.

Due to corruption in the department, vehicle ownership transfers are often delayed, the lawyer claimed.

He pointed out that Karachi’s roads lack zebra crossings and speed limit signs, while poor road conditions force citizens to take alternate or wrong routes.

At some locations, ongoing development projects compel traffic police to divert vehicles onto the wrong side of the road.

Advocate Farooq noted that the Karimabad underpass has been left dug up for years, and key arteries such as Jahangir Road and New Karachi Road are in a severely dilapidated condition.

In such circumstances, he argued, imposing e-challans and heavy fines amounts to discriminatory treatment against citizens.

The petition urged the court to declare the AI-based e-challan system unlawful in the absence of proper infrastructure and to term the heavy fines imposed on citizens as discriminatory.