Vehicle using senator’s number plate seized on journalist’s complaint

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan taking notice on an ‘open letter’ addressed to Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani by senior journalist Mariana Baabar, ordered police to investigate it by taking the vehicle bearing number plate, “Senator- RV-333”, into custody, which harassed the journalist and other people on Expressway few days back.

Taking serious action on instructions of the interior minister, police seized the vehicle bearing number Senator-RV-333. On preliminary investigations as conducted by Islamabad police, the driver of the vehicle showing number plate of Senator-RV-333 was a bank officer who was illegally using the vehicle displaying number plate with the name of his relative senator. On charges of displaying senator’s number plate illegally, legal action has been ordered against the bank officer.

In her letter to Raza Rabbani, senior journalist Mariana Baabar stated that she was on her way to Islamabad from Rawalpindi on Expressway at 12:00pm on 16th February when a vehicle bearing Islamabad number plate Senator-RV-333 nearly overran her but she managed to survive. On honking of horns and flashlights, “I glance at the rear view mirror to see whether it was a vehicle providing emergency service or from security detail, it was neither one of them”, read out the letter further stating that it was someone driving recklessly showing Senator RV-333. “Anyway I glanced to the left but there was no space to turn, meanwhile, I witnessed menacing and threatening behaviour of the vehicle. I squeezed to the left lane causing great annoyance to the vehicles already on that lane. This was a slow process but the senator’s vehicle was impatient even when space was being given for it to pass. Quickly, the senator’s vehicle zoomed past breaking all speed limits,” read the letter.