The Pakhtun history is full of wars so the Pakhtun’s love for weapons isn’t surprising. Though education and modern age have brought some change in the way the younger generation of Pakhtuns looks at life, there is still adherence to the oft-repeated slogan that weapons are jewellery of men.

In this context, the one-month ban imposed by the Peshawar city district administration on the sale and display of toy guns from July 8 has started yielding results.

The plastic replicas of different types of pistols and rifles including AK-47, M4, MP5, etc. have disappeared from most markets in Peshawar. Some retailers also cancelled their orders and discarded their existing stocks.

Pointing out that toy weapons give rise to violence in children, the district administration while announcing the ban had authorised the police to take immediate action against violators.

Those who dare to defy the ban are feeling the commitment of Peshawar Police. Numerous police raids led to confiscation of toy gun stocks, heavy fines and imprisonment. Initially, 16 shopkeepers were arrested and their shops sealed for selling and displaying toy guns in different markets of Peshawar.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Peshawar Riaz Khan Mehsud, known for his innovative ideas of public interest including the ‘DCP 8333’ SMS service where he listens to queries and complaints by general public, is the person behind the ban on the plastic weapons.

Talking to TNS, he argues that the toy guns were tempting the youth toward violence and prompting them to consider using the real weapons in the later stages of their life. "Kids in many districts of KP play with these guns during the Eid days. They make groups of police and Taliban or criminals to stage fight. This is a serious issue when they are at a learning age and the ban is an attempt to discourage such sentiments among children," he says.

Most types of toy weapons use plastic balls as bullets that are fired with a significant pressure. The bullet can cause serious injury if it hits the eye of a child or adult. A number of cases have been reported in the past where a child has suffered partial or complete loss of eyesight after being hit by plastic bullets.

Riaz Mehsud says the one-month ban is not enough. "The ban should be permanent. We will look at the public response and it will definitely be extended until we have completely removed these weapons," he adds.

He felt positive public response could move the PTI-led provincial government to extend the ban across KP.

For the time being, the ban does not apply on water guns. When it was pointed out that water guns could also promote a streak of violence among children, the deputy commissioner conceded it was a case of oversight and gave an assurance that water guns too would be banned.

Azra Nafees Yousafzai, a Lahore-based educationist, peace activist and founder of Sahar Group of Volunteers that works for the under-privileged children and women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly in Swat, told TNS that any form of weapons should be completely banned as these threaten peace.

"The water guns are also weapons. Similarly action movies, video CDs and DVDs, video games, some mobile phone apps and even books and magazines promoting violence should all be seen as forms of aggression, promoting passion of fighting in kids," she maintains.

Yousafzai says it is parents’ responsibility to give their children harmless toys. "There is ignorance among parents. Instead of showing the young ones how to press a trigger, we should teach them how to click a camera or make them express themselves with paints and brushes or teach them football, cricket and other sports," she adds.

Psychiatrist Dr Mian Iftikhar Hussain argued that the period from childhood to adolescence is full of dramatic changes in a child’s physical, psychological, cognitive and social development. "A child learns from the models presented to him. If he is exposed to movies full of violence and weapons, he will play the same role. The child will perceive and conceptualise it as the only correct model," he says.

Dr Iftikhar explains that the people of KP and Fata have developed a psyche of violence and extremism due to the decades-long war in neighbouring Afghanistan -- "A generation grew up witnessing violence and the use of weapons".

Artist Muhammad Arshad Khan, Chairman of the Ranra Development Trust in Karachi, recalls an awareness campaign about toy guns in 2009. "Abundance of toy weapons, violent politics and street crimes were attracting school going children toward violence. A large number of children dropped out from school in class 9 and 10 to join street crime gangs," he says.

Together with other civic groups, Ranra Trust raised the slogan ‘Stop toy guns, these train children for violence’.

Ranra and other civic groups staged demonstrations outside schools, mosques, the press club and the city administration offices in Karachi. Posters and banners were displayed and pamphlets were distributed among parents to make them realise the impact of toy weapons on children.

The Bacha Khan Trust organised a walk by schoolchildren from KP in Islamabad in an attempt to widen the campaign against toy weapons. Protests were also staged outside shops selling toy guns in Peshawar and Swat.

As China is the biggest exporter of plastic toys, including guns, Azra Nafees Yousafzai says walks were organised outside the Chinese Embassy, Islamabad Press Club and wholesale markets. "Letters were sent to Chinese diplomats to let them know our point of view about dangers of the toy guns. Meetings were held with businessmen to stop import of the Chinese toy weapons," she adds.

Another factor contributing to the rise in violence among the younger generation in KP and Fata are the Pashto dramas and films. Made at a low budget and having poor quality, these movies and dramas contain more gun-battles than comedy or romance. No real effort has been made to check the practice.