KARACHI: Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui on Friday violated traffic rules by riding an electric bike without a driving license and without wearing a helmet.
The mayor arrived at the Sindh Assembly on an electric bike from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) head office to attend a meeting. Speaking to the media on the occasion, he admitted to violating traffic rules.
“I have a driving licence for a car, but not for a motorcycle. Today I made two mistakes. I did not wear a helmet and I do not have a motorcycle licence. I will get a helmet and also apply for the licence,” he said, adding that he had followed traffic signals during the ride.
Murtaza Wahab said riding an electric bike is not difficult and that he used to ride a bicycle.
When asked by a journalist whether he rode the bike due to political pressure or fear of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Hafiz Naeem, he responded: “I fear no one except Allah.”
The mayor also said that 20 electric bikes had already been provided to KMC employees and more would be distributed in the future.
Surprisingly, during the entire ride, Karachi traffic police failed to stop Murtaza Wahab at any point, and the e-challan system has not issued any challan so far.
Read More: Karachi mayor orders beautification zones along major roads in the city
Meanwhile, Murtaza Wahab decided to establish beautification zones along major roads in the city, ARY News reported on Friday.
The decision was taken in a high-level meeting of the Engineering Department, chaired by Wahab in Karachi, here today.
During the meeting, the Director General of Technical Services briefed the mayor on various ongoing development schemes in the city.
The mayor directed that beautification work must be made mandatory alongside all road development projects, stating that infrastructure schemes should not only be completed but also designed to enhance the city’s appearance.