The highest bid came for ‘Dawar 1’ at Rs175 million, followed by ‘Waziristan 1’ at Rs40.6 million and ‘Bajaur 1’ at Rs33.5 million.
PESHAWAR:
A recent high-profile auction of high-end VIP number plates and special vehicles in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa descended into controversy after several winning bidders failed to make their payments, forcing the excise department to forfeit their security deposits.
The auction, held on February 14 in Peshawar, included some highly sought-after choice plates bearing tribal and regional names. It initially generated excitement with record bids totaling millions of rupees. The highest bid came for ‘Dawar 1’ at Rs 175 million (17.50 crores), followed by ‘Waziristan 1’ at Rs 40.6 million (4.06 crores) and ‘Bajaur 1’ at Rs 33.5 million (3.35 crores). The event reportedly raised more than 470 million rupees across 30 plaques, demonstrating a high demand for personalized inscriptions symbolizing prestige and status.
According to the rules, successful bidders were required to submit full payment by crossed check within the stipulated time frame. Each participant had deposited Rs100,000 as a guarantee of participation. However, authorities confirmed that the winners of “Dawar 1”, “Waziristan 1” and “Bajaur 1” had not complied with their obligations. Accordingly, the Excise Department seized their security deposits and initiated recovery proceedings.
Officials expressed frustration, noting that some bidders appeared to have made extravagant bids primarily for fame and social media publicity, only to disappear when payment was due.
This embarrassed the ministry, which presented the auctions as a revenue-generating initiative for the provincial treasury.
