Overview
- The Punjab Assembly, which met Wednesday after a two-hour delay, passed seven bills that include sweeping cuts to prescribed traffic fines.
- The Motor Vehicles amendments lower many penalties to Rs1,000 for motorcycle and rickshaw offences and to Rs2,000 for several car and jeep violations, while over-speeding fines stay the same.
- Maximum fines fall to Rs10,000 for vehicles above 2000cc and for heavy trucks and to Rs7,000 for buses, replacing previous Rs20,000 ceilings for many categories.
- A separate bill reduces stamp duty on rural property transfers to 1 percent, matching the urban rate and aiming to simplify deals and cut costs for buyers and sellers outside cities.
- During Question Hour, lawmakers presented allegedly bounced aid cheques issued to minority citizens, and Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan ordered an inquiry with a report due Thursday; the traffic-fine changes followed April 1 committee clearance and an April 10 ordinance and now await the governor's sign-off.