Over 352,000 Pakistanis possess arms licences

Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Pindi among districts with maximum arms licences

ISLAMABAD: Over 352,000 Pakistanis making 0.176% of total population of the country possess armed licences issued by the Ministry of Interior after 1973, reveals official data obtained by Geo News (Programme ASKKS).

Over 170,000 of 352,000 licences could not be verified by the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) after the Ministry of Interior tasked it with computerizing all licences in 2011-12. 

Karachi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi have been listed in the list of top districts with maximum national arms licences. The Interior Ministry did not respond to Geo News despite several reminders.

Since 1973, the federal government issued an estimated 41% arm licences in Punjab where Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore take the lead over other districts.  Twenty percent licences were issued to the residents of KP where Peshawar takes the lead. 

The Ministry of Interior issued 19% licences in Sindh where people of Karachi had major share.  The rest of 20% licences were issued to the residents of Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Gilgit-Baltistan during this period.

The Ministry of Interior declared 9,000 licences as bogus, recommending a strict action against those who hold these fake licences. It has been recommended that all bogus license holders should be tried under Section 420 of Pakistan Penal Code and other fraud and cheating related laws onwards. Mir Muzaffar Talpur (Secretary General PML-N Larkana) and nephew of Munawar Talpur also holds bogus (6129-44 rifle).

Mianwali takes the lead with 1, 279 fake licences, Bannu is listed as the second place where investigators found 621 fake licences, following Peshawar which holds 355 fake licences, reveal documents. Over 192 licences were declared fake in Rawalpindi, 271 in Swabi and 186 in Islamabad.

Former President Asif Ali Zardari possesses maximum 67 licences of prohibited and non-prohibited guns, while sitting Senator Mir Nematullah Zehri, brother of Balochistan Chief Minister, obtained four fake licences of prohibited guns.

Zehri, who did not comment on this issue, is now struggling to get Rk-4393 (7.62mm Kalashnikov) and E-2540 (7.62mm Kalashnikov) verified but Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali has reportedly refused to accommodate him.

Former Speaker National Assembly Fahmida Mirza holds 25 prohibited and non prohibited licences. She did not respond to queries sent by Geo News.  

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has no arm licence for personal security while Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holds 13 licences for self-defence. Despite several reminders, the PM Office did not respond to the queries. 

Chief Minister Balochistan Sanaullah Zehri holds 30 licences of prohibited and non-prohibited licences. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak and Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif posses no arm licences for their self-defence.

Faryal Talpur, PPP MNA and sister of Asif Zardari, has seven licences for big guns, PTI MNA Jahangir Khan Tareen possesses six licences, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chief Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Minister for State Abid Sher Ali own five arm licences each, Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq has two licences, Muttahida Qaumi Movement MNA Farooq Sattar acquired one licence for his self-defence.  

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Khursheed Shah, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, PTI MNA Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar did not get any arm licence under their names for personal security.

To justify former President Zardari’s maximum guns, Senator Farhatullah Babar says: “As ex-president, as head of a major political party in the cross hair of extremists and spouse of former PM Shaheed Bibi who fell victim to militants it should not be surprising if Zardari Sb has been issued several arms licenses.”

PTI Chairman Imran Khan did not get a single armed license for himself or for his security guards as he believes that it is state responsibility to save its citizens’ lives, says PTI MNA Arif Alvi. 

“I call for strictly limiting issuance of many armed licenses to people. We as lawmakers should strongly discourage proliferation of this gun culture and politics of arms,” he said.  Former Secretary Interior Tasneem Noorani says the number of arms licences must be reduced so that gun culture could be discouraged.  “The government should come up with new arms policy by limiting issuance to arms licences to an individual,” Noorani proposed.