Azhar Wazir has been trying to obtain a firearms licence since November 2013, after a sectarian clash took place in Rawalpindi. He holds a religious gathering at his house every year in Muharram.

"I have a genuine case to keep and carry arms in the backdrop of the sectarian strife in Rawalpindi. People are being regularly targeted in the city," Wazir tells TNS.

He says it is a lengthy and complex process to fill and submit the licence form. "All common people like me who have no contacts with big shots of the society have to go through this process which discourages them at every step."

Wazir has spent two days trying to know where he could get the form to apply for a licence. Finally, he found out that the form can be obtained from the Arms Licensing Issuing Branch of District Coordination Officer (DCO), who is the licence-issuing authority for non-prohibited firearms licences in respective districts.

"The licence-issuing branch is like a dark room. It seems as if people sitting there are not to help you but to create problems for you." The next step is to fill up the form and get it verified from the local police. "When I reached the local police station, they asked me to get it marked from the DCO office. I came back to the Arms Branch but was informed that the DCO was not available to mark such applications."

It took about two weeks for Wazir to understand that he could get his application verified from the deputy superintended of police (DSP) as well. "I went to the DSP office but his staff was not ready to listen." Finally, he had to offer bribe to a staff member of DSP to get his application marked for verification which would have to be done by the local police station.

After three and a half months of trying his luck and spending a good chunk of money, he succeeded in getting the form verified by the local police.

He went back to the Arms Branch of the DCO office and submitted his application alongside other documents. "I was informed that DCO needs to meet me in person and it could take months to get time for the meeting."

Wazir has been waiting for over six months to meet the DCO. "I think they will not issue me the licence. But, I need firearms for self-defence. So, finally I have bought a pistol with the help of a friend. It took me only two days to order and get the pistol at my home. Obtaining firearms through legal means is so difficult and complex in this country but obtaining illegal firearms is so easy."

There are two types of weapons -- prohibited and non-prohibited bores. The prohibited bores are assault weapons while non-prohibited bores are weapons of self-defence. Pistols and 12 bore shotguns are among the non-prohibited weapons. The provincial home departments, through DCO offices, are the licence-issuing authority for non-prohibited weapons while issuing special permit to keep and carry prohibited bores is the discretion of the prime minister who delegates this power to the interior ministry.

"That a common man can get special permit to keep and carry prohibited bores is out of question. The common people can only get licence of non-prohibited bore but this is not easy. This system makes room for corruption. Getting an illegal weapon in Pakistan is easy," admits a senior police official on condition of anonymity.

"Pakistan is among few countries of the world where there is no record of small arms while it is among the top ten countries of the world with illegal small arms," he says, adding, "there is no mechanism in the current firearms licence-issuing process to keep track of the licence-bearer.

"An applicant has to buy weapon from arms dealer but one just needs to pay some extra money and an arms dealer will convert your illegal weapon into a legal one if one luckily gets a licence," he says.

A senior official of the Punjab Home Department agrees that obtaining licence for a common person is not easy. "First, we need to understand that keeping and carrying arms is not a right but a privilege. The licence is the property of Home Department which gives a monthly quota to different districts of the province. A big district like Lahore gets a quota to issue 250 licences of firearms while most of the districts get a quota of 125 licences per month," he says.

A senior official at the Lahore DCO office tells TNS that there has always been a lot of pressure to obtain arms licence from the DCO office. "There has always been a line of influential people from different sections of society like traders, lawyers, journalists, and civil servants to obtain firearms licence. It is true that the common people come last on the priority list to issue a licence but some of them do get it though it takes months for them to obtain it."

On paper, the procedure to obtain arms licence is simple and easy. For example, ‘the procedure for issuance of arms licence’ according to official web portal of government of Punjab is the following:

Fill up Arms Licence Form

Attach one copy of Identity Card

Get verification from Police Station, DSP and SP concerned on filled up Arms Licence Form

Applicant himself should appear before the Deputy Commissioner along with the copy of Identity Card

Deputy Commissioner will order for the issuance of Arms Licence on the form

Pasting of tickets equivalent to Rs. 2000/- for Arms Licence Form is required

Submit the forms in Arms Licensing Issuing Branch in the D.C. Office. The copy of the licence will be issued and applicant will purchase arm from arms dealer. Its entry will be made in the post office and renewal thereof will be made annually with fee.