LAHORE: Before coming to the main argument presented in this letter, I just want to clarify that since I am not a journalist, I bear no responsibility regarding the facts and figures quoted herein. The sole purpose of this letter is to encourage The Express Tribune reporters to look into the matter and raise this extremely important issue on this platform.
For all my life in Lahore, I have heard annoying sounds of rickshaws, detestable wagon horns and the banging beats of ultra-loud music. But in the past couple of years, there was a horrible addition to this list — the noise produced by celebratory firing. Arms proliferation has grown to a threatening degree in Lahore and people, who used to find peace in staying away from this menace in the past, are now calling it a necessity.
To dig into details, I informally interviewed an arms seller in the Neela Gumbad area of Anarkali. According to him, an MNA is allowed to recommend five people a month for ‘non-prohibited’ weapon licences. These recommendations go from the MNA to the PM house where they get signed by the prime minister. The written documents then go to the interior ministry office, where they are stamped by the interior minister and passed on to the joint secretary, who does all the paper work before sending it out to NADRA’s chairman office.
When I interjected and asked about the Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting NADRA from issuing these licenses, the arms seller asserted: “Yahan sab chalta hai baba jee!” He went on to say that, although the limit of license recommendations from one MNA is five, it is not uncommon to see names of a 100 people on that recommendation letter. With the gesture of his fingers, he explained that one just needs to grease their palms to get the job done.
When asked about numbers, the arms seller said that every house in Lahore, on an average, has one to two weapons. At least 40 per cent of them are fake or unverified. Carrying a gun has become a status symbol in some communities of Lahore, where a person who does not walk around ‘loaded’ all the time is considered docile. In Allama Iqbal Town, where I live, celebratory firing is a matter of routine after sunset. Young people, mostly aged between 25 and 35, love to show off their ‘freedom’ on busy roads, with blatant disregard for the safety of others. The police and the Muhafiz force seem to be too lazy and incompetent to catch them.
The provincial and federal governments have failed to provide protection to citizens. Here, people are mugged in broad daylight and no one creates a fuss over it. As a resident of Lahore and a citizen of Pakistan, I am extremely concerned about the silent majority who wants to live in peace, away from guns and bullets. If this proliferation continues, I am afraid, Lahore will soon be seen juxtaposed right next to Karachi and Balochistan in the ‘red’ headlines.
Arsalan Muneer
Published in The Express Tribune, November 13th, 2012.
