Sindh Arms Act: Law tweaked to allow ballistic identification of weapons

Arms dealers will have to submit weapons' details at yet-non-existent lab

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Wednesday passed a law to introduce ballistic signature for weapons - wherein arms dealers will take thumb impressions, CNIC copy and other relevant details from buyers, which will then be referred to a forensic laboratory for record keeping.

The lab in question, however, is at present non-existent, even though funds for it were allocated in this year's budget.

"The arms dealers after selling any weapon will go to the forensic lab to register the weapon. The lab officials will collect samples of two empty cartridges or bullets and store the data.  They will save the profile of the gun in their database, which will help locate and identify whosoever uses the weapon in a criminal offence," parliamentary affairs minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said while briefing lawmakers about the legislation.

Making an amendment to the Sindh Arms Act, Khuhro said the ballistic identification system is being initiated to help out law enforcement agencies to investigate target killings and related incidents. "The forensic lab will be established soon," he added.

The amendment to the law was made after a series of meetings by the standing committee on home.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) MPA Syed Awais Shah, chairperson of the standing committee on home department, said the "very important" law will definitely pave the way to prevent illegal arms sales in the province. He emphasised the need to establish forensic and ballistic laboratories at divisional headquarters across Sindh.

During the session, chaired by speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, the lawmakers paid tribute to 'martyrs' of the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD) , which was initiated in Sindh from 1983 to 1986 against then army ruler General Ziaul Haq.   During the movement, many workers of the PPP and other political parties were killed and sent to jails. The resolution was moved by PPP MPA Ghulam Qadir Chandio. "Around 16 party workers were killed and more than 30 injured in our village in Benazirabad," Chandio claimed.

Many MPAs of the PPP and opposition parties, including Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Khuhro, Dr Sikandar Shoro and Ismail Rahu [PML-N] endorsed the resolution and spoke on the issue.

Missing healthcare

The issue of severe shortage of doctors and paramedics in various hospitals of Sindh was raised by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Saifuddin Khalid and Ameer Hyder Shah Sherazi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Khalid drew the attention of the House towards a government hospital in Oragni Town which lacks medical staff.

Health minister Dr Sikandar Mandhro said the government has conducted tests of around 400 doctors and their appointment is in process. "We will fill all the vacancies by appointing these doctors in various government hospitals," he assured.

Meanwhile, an MQM MPA moved a call attention notice regarding encroachment on storm water drains and their cleanliness. Local government minister Jam Khan Shoro said his department has released around Rs500 million for the drains' cleanliness and removal of encroachments.

"All district municipal corporations in Karachi have been directed to expedite this process and we have cleared large portion of encroachment from Gujjar Nullah," he said.

When the minister's attention was diverted to the illegal billboards and hydrants in the city, he said, "The Supreme Court has given us orders and we have taken action to remove the billboards and demolish illegal hydrants," he said.

Faisal Subzwari of the MQM, talking on a point of order, requested the government to take action against rival political party MQM-Haqiqi, "whose activists have started targeting MQM's workers."

Later, the speaker adjourned the session till Thursday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2016.