Say no to guns: ‘Elite class’ blamed for widespread arms culture

Activist highlights rampant gun culture in Pakistan, ways forward

KARACHI: Citizens of Pakistan are in possession of 20 million weapons, out of which only eight million guns are licenced.

These and other grim statistics were revealed during a lecture titled 'De-weaponisation and Current Status of Weapons in Pakistan' held at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan's office on Friday.



Naeem Sadiq, a researcher, and member of Citizens Against Weapons — a group working for a weapons-free Pakistan — gave a presentation to members of civil society.

He said, according to recorded data, 2,029 people were killed in Karachi in 2014, including over 100 policemen on average per year. He lamented that in developed countries, monopoly over violence rests with the state but, in Pakistan, private militias, armed to the teeth, are challenging the writ of the government. According to Sadiq, militancy, crime and terrorism are major problems of Pakistan and these issues can only be resolved if we can de-weaponise the society.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif used the word "de-weaponise" 13 times since taking over in 2013 but himself received a weapon's licence last month, Sadiq pointed out. Various civil society organisations have to join hands to collectively raise their voice to push for a change in the status quo, he said.

Sharing data, he said the number of weapons per 100 persons in Japan is 0.6, in UK it is 6.2 whereas in USA it is 89 and in Pakistan it's 11.6. He informed that, in Vietnam, the punishment for possessing a weapon is death penalty. Sadiq said prohibited bore weapons are required for mass killings but, in Pakistan, every parliamentarian has a quota of 20 prohibited bore licences to be issued in a year.



Talking to The Express Tribune, Sadiq said, "No citizen, regardless of rank or status, must be allowed to possess, carry or display any weapon of any bore — licenced or otherwise."

Suggesting a way towards de-weaponisation of society, he said the state should start a rational buyback arrangement so citizens can surrender their weapons to the state.

Only Sindh has a law against toy guns but till now no one has been booked for selling or importing a toy gun in the country, he explained. He shared that it is a myth that criminals are the biggest obstacle against a weapon-free Pakistan as the elite class is as much if not more responsible for hoarding weapons for various purposes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2015.