Common sense dictates the grace period should have been extended to April 1 as March 31 was a Sunday, a holiday.
RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has imposed a penalty of Rs1,000 for delay in renewal of arms licences. The penalty is the same whether the delay has been of one day or one year. I approached the postal authorities to renew my revolver licence on April 1. They asked me to pay Rs2,000 for the renewal of licence of my Pakistan-made revolver bought for Rs200 several decades back. Common sense dictates that the grace period should have been extended to April 1 as March 31 was a Sunday and, therefore, a holiday.
A heavy fine would discourage people to get arms licences for self-protection. The government should extend the grace period and fix a variable rate of penalty that rises proportionately with the period of delay in renewing the licence.
Amjed Jaaved
Published in The Express Tribune, April 5th, 2013.
