Although the ride-hailing services like Careem and Uber managed to secure some semblance of relief for the time being in Punjab and Sindh, the story in Pakistan’s capital is totally opposite. Law enforcement agencies in Islamabad have launched a crackdown against the services from Thursday 2, 2017.
Sources have reported that the authorities have impounded a number of cars, which were allegedly operating illegally. This action is being administrated due to an official missive released from the Islamabad Deputy Commissioner on February 1st, 2017; which states that companies such as Careem, Uber and Citi Cab offering cab and ride sharing services are operating in the capital territory without:
- Registering their vehicles with any regulatory authority
- Obtaining route permits or fitness certificates
thus resulting in huge losses to the government exchequer. The missive further elaborates that the use of private vehicles for commercial purposes is in direct violation of the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965; sources report. In this regard, the secretary Islamabad Transport Authority Jawad Muzaffar said on Thursday that a massive crackdown has been launched against private cars being used as taxis.
