Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan earlier yesterday said that the federal government would consult all the provinces for a uniform policy for issuance of arms licenses to discourage its misuse.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad, the minister said the misuse of arms could only be curbed by a strict license issuance policy.
He said there was a complete ban on the issuance of arms licenses, but except Punjab and the Federal Capital all other provinces had lifted the restriction.
Nisar said the government wanted to regulate the issuance of arms licenses through National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) as around 4500 fake arms licenses had been detected so far.
“In some cases, the license holder was not a Pakistani national or he had provided his incorrect data,” the minister added.
The minister said if not revalidated all arms licenses would stand cancelled after December 31, 2015. The license would now be issued to the persons above 25 years of age, he added.
He said the arms licenses would be issued to only tax payers and those of the prohibited bore to ones facing serious life threats. The licenses could not be granted for the sake of mere fun, he added.
Chuadhry Nisar said had it been in his control, he would have not lifted ban on arms licenses. However, there was a need to regulate the arms licenses, he stressed.
He suggested that there must be a limited quota for all the provinces as in the past, politicians and influentials used to get issued licenses for their supporters.
“Is it good for the country?” he asked.
Regarding private security agencies, the minister said during his current tenure, he had completely banned issuance of license for a security agency.
He said an investigation had revealed that the security agencies employed certain people who even did not know how to use a weapon. Even some agencies had employed criminals, he alleged.
Nisar stressed that there was a need for prior security clearance of those being hired by the security agencies.
