The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has announced its plan to auction vehicle number plates bearing the names of political and national figures, including jailed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan, President Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
In an interview with a private news outlet, Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Syed Fakhar Jehan said that number plates with the names of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Maryam Nawaz and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto would also be up for auction.
According to him, the programme aims to raise money for the government and encourage citizen participation.
The minister announced that the sale will take place in phases.
On January 27, two license plates with the names “Imran Khan-804” and “Imran Khan-1” will be put up for bid in the first phase. In later stages, he said, number plates bearing the names of other political figures would be added.
Nishtar Hall in Peshawar will host the auction’s initial phase.
Number plates with well-known caste and tribal names will also be put up for auction on the same day, according to a public announcement by the Excise and Taxation Department. Afridi, Gandapur, Durrani, Kundi, Yousufzai, Mahsood and Khattak are among the names that will be auctioned.
The department said citizens interested in participating in the auction can submit their applications through the Dastak app. The deadline for submitting applications has been set for January 26.
The bidding process for each number plate will begin at Rs1 million, and the revenue generated through the auction will be directed to the national exchequer.