The Taliban’s Traffic Department has identified right-hand drive vehicles, locally known as “shterng rasta” or “Pakistan hand,” as a major cause of traffic accidents across the country.
Officials state that drivers of these cars lack proper visibility on Afghanistan’s right-hand traffic roads, leading to chaos and collisions.
Traffic officials announced that the movement of these vehicles has been severely restricted in Kabul, with warnings issued in other provinces.
While 470,000 such cars were registered in the last three years, the department is now launching a final registration drive for another 500,000 vehicles before aiming to phase them out completely.
Estimates suggest there are around one million right-hand drive cars in Afghanistan, many imported illegally.
The Traffic Department emphasized that the issuance of temporary plates is a short-term measure, with the ultimate goal being the removal of these non-compliant vehicles from Afghan roads to improve safety.
