The Senate’s Standing Committee on Communications has directed the National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) not to check marriage certificates of citizens.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Senator Pervaiz Rashid to review matters related to the NHMP. During the meeting on Wednesday, Senator Pervaiz Rashid expressed concerns over reports of officers checking marriage certificates on highways. He questioned under whose authority officers carried out the checks.
“The Motorway Police is a responsible institution. In the future, make sure no one’s marriage certificate is checked,” Senator Pervaiz Rashid directed.
Senator Pervaiz Rashid stated that the Motorway Police enjoys a public reputation that the department must protect through conduct.
During the meeting, Senator Saifullah Abro raised objections on an NHMP handout and sought an explanation over the inclusion of names of senators in the document. Senator Saifullah Abro questioned how the Motorway Police concluded that recovered items were linked to specific senators.
Responding to the committee, the Inspector General (IG) of the Motorway Police stated that the responsibility of the department involves taking legal action where required, not commenting on any individual or institution.
The directive follows an incident where the NHMP suspended an officer after footage of the official confronting a driver on the Lahore-Sialkot Motorway surfaced on social media platforms.
In the video, the officer accused the driver of engaging in an intimate act with a passenger, attempting to run the officer over, and offering a bribe. The driver rejected the accusations and questioned the officer for staging a trial on camera during the interaction. The face of the driver remains blurred throughout the encounter.
The NHMP acknowledged mishandling of the situation by the officer. Senior authorities took notice as the video gained traction online, resulting in the suspension of the official and the initiation of an inquiry into the matter.
