Mayor Murtaza Wahab rides e-bike to Sindh Assembly without helmet

KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab arrived at the Sindh Assembly on an electric bike on Friday without wearing a helmet, in apparent violation of the Sindh government’s recently introduced e-challan regime for traffic offences.

Video footage showed Wahab riding the e-bike to the assembly premises without protective headgear. The clip surfaced at a time when the provincial government has been enforcing traffic rules through the e-challan system, including fines for motorcyclists who do not wear helmets.

Speaking to reporters, Wahab said riding a bike was not difficult and recalled that he used to ride a bicycle in his childhood. He said he had come to the assembly to attend a meeting.

“Now I will buy a helmet and also apply for a motorcycle licence,” Wahab added.

The mayor also said that although he holds a driving licence for a car, he does not have a motorcycle licence.

E-challan system

The Sindh government formally launched the e-challan system in October last year. The Traffic Regulation and Citation System (TRACS) was introduced on October 27 to replace the manual ticketing process with an automated electronic enforcement mechanism.

Under the system, AI-integrated CCTV cameras are used to identify traffic violations, including over-speeding, jumping red lights and failure to wear helmets. Around 1,200 cameras were installed across Karachi as part of the initiative to monitor breaches of traffic laws.

Since its launch, the system has received a mixed response from the public. Critics have raised concerns over the lack of sufficient facilities and infrastructure in Karachi to support its implementation.

The footage of the mayor’s ride emerged against this backdrop, drawing attention because helmet use is among the violations covered under the current enforcement framework.

The provincial government’s move toward automated traffic enforcement was presented as an effort to modernise regulation and reduce reliance on the older manual challan process. The latest video, however, has put focus on compliance with the same rules by public officeholders as well.