ISLAMABAD: Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb of Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought a report from Islamabad Traffic Police (ITP) on its strength to cope with violations on roads as the federal capital has become one of the most dangerous cities of the country in terms of accidents ever since its population and traffic vol-ume increased manifold.

Hearing a petition filed by M/s Lakki Foundation, Justice Aurangzeb directed the police authorities to `submit a report on the mechanism/SOPs that are adopted for determining as to whether a transport vehicle is worthy of being issued a fitness certificate.

The report shall also indicate steps being taken to penalise those who violate traffic rules.

Justice Aurangzeb alsodirected the police to submit a report about the sanctioned strength of its staff and officers, and the number of officers assigned duty in night hours.

Counsel for the petitioner Kashif Ali Malik informed the court that the population of Islamabad was 800,000 in 1998 which increased to over 1.1 million while the traffic volume went up by almost seven times in the last 13 years. However, thestrength ofITP has gradually decreased from 684 to 628 personnel, he said.

There are around 31 entry points to the federal capital which are not properly manned by traffic police. Furthermore, there is no segregation of entities such as motorcycles, motorcars, heavy traffic etc., on the roads which is a major cause of accidents, said the petition.

It said the ITP was established on Jan 28, 2006, to make the trafficsystem in the capital a model of excellence for other cities.

Citing a report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the petition said Pakistan was ranked first in Asia and 48th in the world for deaths caused by traffic accidents.

The report said therewere no national vehicle standards, no formal certification for pre-hospital providers, no testing carried out in case of a fatal crash. The design standards for the safety of pedestrians exist partially; seatbelt law is not applicable to the front, rear seat and child occupants.