# Rawalpindi smog crackdown: smoke-emitting vehicles to be impounded until they get a fitness certificate

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/rawalpindi-smog-crackdown-smoke-emitting-vehicles-to-be-impounded-until-they-get)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 16 Oct 2026
Updated: 16 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 16 Oct 2026

> Traffic police are checking buses and loaders at bus stands and city entry points, and a cleanliness squad has issued 65 warnings to traders for littering and burning waste.

Vehicles giving off heavy smoke in **Rawalpindi** will be impounded at police stations until their owners produce a fitness certificate, under an **anti-smog** crackdown ordered by Chief Traffic Officer **Farhan Aslam**, ProPakistani reported on Friday.

Traffic wardens are checking vehicles at **bus stands and the city's entry and exit points**. Along with heavy fines (the amounts were not published), the police said trolleys running without a tarpaulin or proper cover and loaders that spill dirt and waste on roads would face strict action.

Traffic police cited a survey that puts the share of smog coming from smoke-emitting vehicles at **40 to 83 percent**, which is why the drive starts with buses, wagons and goods vehicles.

## Littering and open burning

A separate awareness and enforcement drive run on the direction of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and supervised by Rana Sajid Safdar, managing director of the city's SPA, covered **Shakrial, Faizabad, Pirwadhai, Girja Road and Commercial Market**. Its anti-littering squad carried out **430 inspections and issued 65 warning notices**. Shopkeepers were told not to dump waste in public places or burn rubbish in the open.

The traffic police's education wing will also hand out pamphlets at schools, colleges, offices and on main roads.

## What it means if you drive in Rawalpindi

- **Get the engine checked before the checks reach you.** An impounded vehicle stays off the road until it has a fitness certificate.
- **Cover your load.** Pickups and trolleys carrying sand, soil or waste need a tarpaulin.
- **Don't burn leaves or rubbish** outside your shop or house; it is part of what the drive is targeting.

Our [fuel average calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-average-calculator) shows your car's real kilometres per litre, and the [fuel cost calculator](/tools/cars/fuel-cost-calculator) puts it in rupees at today's [petrol price](/data/petrol-price).

## Smog season in Punjab

Check the daily forecast on our [Rawalpindi weather page](/weather/rawalpindi), and keep children and older relatives indoors on the worst days.

## Frequently asked questions

**What happens to a smoke-emitting vehicle in Rawalpindi?**

Traffic police can fine it and impound it at a police station until the owner gets a fitness certificate, under the drive announced on 16 October 2026.

## Sources

- Rawalpindi Starts Anti-Smog Action Against Smoke-Emitting Vehicles (ProPakistani): https://propakistani.pk/2026/10/16/rawalpindi-starts-anti-smog-action-against-smoke-emitting-vehicles/

How to cite: "Rawalpindi smog crackdown: smoke-emitting vehicles to be impounded until they get a fitness certificate", Searchable, 16 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/pakistan/rawalpindi-smog-crackdown-smoke-emitting-vehicles-to-be-impounded-until-they-get