KARACHI — For years, Karachi’s traffic cops have endured the city’s scorching heat, chaotic intersections, and endless honking. Yet, for many of them, the job also came with an unspoken “perk” the occasional roadside negotiation that helped supplement their modest salaries. Now, that quiet stream of extra income seems to be drying up.
The city’s newly launched e-challan system has replaced manual fines with a digital process, stripping officers of their power to issue on-the-spot challans and, in the process, eliminating what many insiders describe as a long-standing “source of income.”
Since the introduction of the e-challan on October 27, several traffic officers have reportedly sought transfers to other departments, hoping to escape what they see as an “income drought.” According to DIG Traffic Police Pir Muhammad Shah, inter-departmental transfers surged immediately after the system’s rollout, prompting the Inspector General of Sindh Police to impose a temporary ban on further postings.
Behind the scenes, frustration brews among officers who once operated under unspoken expectations from their superiors demands that could no longer be met under the new system. One officer, requesting anonymity, admitted, “The e-challan is a positive step for professional policing, but it’s also disrupted the internal ecosystem of our department. Now, our earnings depend on small favors from street vendors or roadside stalls.”
DIG Shah conceded that bribery had been an unfortunate part of the system in the past but insisted that digitalization has significantly curbed the practice. Still, not all officers are convinced that corruption can be rooted out so easily.
An officer stationed in New Karachi shared candidly, “We can’t threaten drivers with challans anymore, but there are still loopholes. Filing a case under Section 341 or 188 can keep the money flowing it just takes a different form.”
Such cases, he explained, often push citizens into “off-the-record” settlements to avoid lengthy legal proceedings, sometimes paying anywhere between Rs1,000 and Rs10,000. At certain checkpoints, particularly near Sharifabad Police Station, the real power reportedly lies not with the officers on the road, but with the moharrars managing impounded vehicles a setup that insiders say is mirrored across Karachi.
Some constables, however, seem amused by the new reality. “Now people will learn what real fines are,” quipped one officer from Nazimabad. “Earlier, we’d let bikers go for a hundred or two. Let’s see how they’ll dodge the cameras now.”
Others miss the small, informal interactions that once defined their shifts. One officer laughed as he recalled, “Sometimes, if a biker was broke, we’d let him go for a cigarette or a packet of gutka. Those days are gone.”
But not everyone in the department sees the change as a loss. A constable near Karsaz Flyover called the e-challan system “a blessing in disguise.” “Most of the bribe money went to senior officers anyway,” he said. “We only got the public’s curses. At least now, we’re free from that.”
He added that though the official challan commission for constables was supposed to be Rs9,000, most never saw a rupee. “Last month, DIG Traffic ensured Rs5,000 was transferred to our accounts. We don’t know what happened to the remaining Rs2,000 maybe someone higher up needed it more.”
On Karachi’s streets, the effects of the reform are visible. In a survey conducted between Mosamiyat and Nipa Chowrangi, not a single traffic cop was spotted on duty, despite severe congestion caused by ongoing BRT construction. On Sharae Faisal, only one officer stood watch near the Maritime Museum signal.
For now, the city’s e-challan experiment is exposing the deep fault lines within Karachi’s traffic system and for many officers, it’s more than just about losing a side income. It’s about losing control over the very roads they once ruled.
