Government must issue clear and strict guidelines regarding the possession and legality for ownership of firearms
KARACHI: The government has now lifted the ban on the issuance of licences for firearms after a new system for computerised weapon licences has been launched. The new system will replace the old method of the issuance of licences. However, the measure does little to control the incidents involving unjustified and inappropriate use of firearms, like the recent case of killing of a teenage boy in DHA Karachi, as the laws remain ambiguous on the minimum age requirement for the possession of a firearms. Also the licences issued in a month most likely cross the mark of the quota set for the provinces and the cities by the ministry of interior.
Alongside the renewal of the licence-issuing process, the government must issue clear and strict guidelines regarding the possession and legality for the ownership of firearms.
Areej Iqbal
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2017.
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