De-weaponisation should be acceptable to all, provided criminals are disarmed first
RAWALPINDI: This is in reference to a letter on the subject of gun licences in this newspaper by Naeem Sadiq on December 4. Mr Sadiq has pointed out that 20 million weapons are in the hands of terrorists. There is also the problem of eight million fraudulent gun licences and the illegal issue of thousands of prohibited gun licences. He has suggested complete de-weaponisation to save valuable lives. His objective is a noble one.
De-weaponisation should be acceptable to all, provided criminals are disarmed first. Here, the slogan of the National Rifle Association in the US is worth quoting: “If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.”
In Pakistan, even martial laws failed to de-weaponise society and only law-abiding licence-holders gave up their guns when de-weaoponisation drives tooks place. Many law-abiding citizens suffered because of this, but not the outlaws. Guns have become necessary for self-defence, especially in areas where little state security exists.
People in these areas cannot afford to surrender their weapons and be at the mercy of their enemies and outlaws. A visit to some parts of the interior of Sindh will provide a fair idea of the ground reality. Most people wouldn’t have to spend money on guns, except hunters, if their life, honour and property were protected.
History proves that murderers have been able to kill people without the use of guns with ease. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed in the 1947 Partition riots on both sides without the use of guns. Guns were rarely used then because only law-abiding people had licenced guns and illegal possession was limited. So it is not the gun but the criminal that should be eliminated for the safety of law-abiding citizens; gun possession by law-abiding citizens serves as a deterrent for criminals.
In view of the above, a vigorous campaign is required to identify and eliminate criminals with guns before considering the de-weaponisation of peaceful citizens, including those forced to keep even unlicenced guns for self-defence.
M Akram Niazi
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2015.
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