“It was a mistake” – can the police stop drivers? The Ministry of Internal Affairs explained

Tengrinews.kz — Kazakhstani police have always held the legal authority to pull over vehicles under specific circumstances. However, an internal directive previously required patrol officers to identify violations only while in motion. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has now admitted this approach was flawed.
Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Lepekha announced the change during a government briefing.

"An order was in effect stating that violations should only be detected while moving. Practice has shown that this was a mistake. This procedure seriously hindered the work of traffic police, so we have abandoned it," Lepekha stated.

To illustrate, he cited a scenario where an officer stationed at an intersection witnesses a vehicle running a red light.

"As it stood, the officer had to get into their car, catch up to the driver, and only then hold them accountable. Or consider a driver going 150 km/h on a highway where the limit is 140. The officer would have to accelerate to 170 km/h just to catch them," the Deputy Minister explained.

Patrol officers may now perform their duties both while mobile and from stationary positions. Lepekha emphasized that the police's right to stop transport has remained constant throughout.
The grounds for stopping a vehicle are outlined in Article 52 of the Law "On Road Traffic." These include committing an offense, suspicion of involvement in a crime, conducting operational preventive measures, and document checks at stationary posts.
Lepekha stressed that the police are not aiming to increase fine collection.

"We are not a fiscal organization. Our task is to prevent and suppress offenses," he declared.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 67 percent of traffic violations in the country are recorded by automated systems. In Almaty and Astana, this figure exceeds 70 percent.
Context
In 2017, foot patrols were prohibited from stopping vehicles outside of stationary posts: violations were supposed to be detected via mobile patrols. However, the Ministry clarified at the time that an officer witnessing a violation is still obligated to respond and stop the vehicle.
The Ministry also reminded the public that stopping a vehicle without cause is prohibited. If a driver doubts the legality of an officer's actions, they can call 102 or appeal the stop to a senior official.