At first I thought the article was a parody: "arrested for being in violation of a section of the draconian law that requires everyone to have a valid license while driving". How is that draconian?

It sounds like he had an International Driver's Permit, which clearly states that it is only valid with an actual license (it's just a translation of the content of said license). So he was driving without a valid license.

Certainly requiring that the operator of a multi-ton vehicle carry a valid license to so is less draconian than requiring pedestrians to have ID, as Yada's own country requires?