Pakistan: Historic License Plate Auction in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Raises Millions

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – The northwestern Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa held a unique auction of personalized vehicle license plates, with numbers bearing names of political and prominent figures selling for hundreds of thousands to millions of rupees.
Organized by the Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department at Nishtar Hall Peshawar, the auction saw the ‘Wazir 1’ (Minister 1) plate fetch the highest bid of 15 million rupees (approximately $54,000 USD).
Javed Afridi, owner of cricket franchise Peshawar Zalmi, purchased the ‘Afridi 1’ plate for 14.05 million rupees, while Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Member of Provincial Assembly Nek Muhammad Khan from Waziristan acquired the ‘Khan 1’ plate—bearing resemblance to former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s name—for 11.1 million rupees.
Other notable sales included ‘Peshawar 1’ at 10 million rupees, ‘Haripur 1’ at 8 million rupees, and ‘Yousafzai 1’ at 4.9 million rupees.
Provincial Minister for Excise Syed Fakhr-e-Jahan described the initiative as a unique, people-friendly measure that received overwhelming public interest. He announced that future auctions would be conducted through e-bidding, allowing citizens to submit requests via the Dastak app or directly to the Director General of Excise.
The initiative is expected to generate substantial revenue for the provincial treasury while providing citizens with an opportunity to acquire personalized license plates reflecting their personal, tribal, political, or regional identities.