ISLAMABAD: Authorities will bar vehicles without an electronic tag, or e-tag, from entering the federal capital of Islamabad starting Jan. 1, the Pakistani interior ministry announced on Sunday, in a move aimed at streamlining traffic management and improving monitoring at Islamabad’s entry and exit points.

Authorities made e-tags mandatory for all vehicles in the capital in Nov. to enhance security in the city. Vehicles already equipped with a motorway tag, or m-tag, do not require an e-tag.

The enforcement will rely on e-tag readers installed at entry and check points across the capital, which will automatically identify untagged vehicles and allow authorities to take action without manual checks.

The move is aimed at regulating traffic flow, improving record-keeping, and ensuring that vehicles entering the federal capital are properly registered within the system, according to the officials.

“Reforms in Safe City operations and the effective use of technology are the need of the hour,” Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was quoted as saying, following a review of the city’s monitoring system.

He presided over a meeting at the Safe City headquarters to review measures taken for the protection of citizens’ lives and property.

‎Under the Capital Smart City initiative, citizen services such as Rescue 1122, traffic management, security, and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) would be integrated into a centralized system,” Naqvi said.

At present, 16 e-tag points have been set up at different locations across Islamabad to tag vehicles.

Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Memon advised citizens to get their vehicles tagged immediately to avoid legal action.

“The administration is making efforts to facilitate the public, but compliance from citizens is essential for smooth implementation,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run APP news agency.