‘One of every four arms licences is fake’

32,000 unauthorised licences were issued by the interior ministry.

ISLAMABAD:

Nearly one out of every four arms licences issued from 2007 to 2009 are forged, indicating a dangerous rise in the proliferation of illegal weapons in the country, said a parliamentary panel in a meeting on Wednesday.

Around 32,000 of the 0.14 million licences issued by the Ministry of Interior in the three years were unauthorised and unsanctioned, the sub-committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior said.

During the course of proceedings, Additional Secretary Shabbir Ahmed said that no licences were issued to foreigners in 2010. The committee was informed that some 9,000 licences were issued on the prime minister’s directions despite the ban last year

The senate panel expressed concern on the discriminatory policy of the PM and said they would raise the issue on the floor of the house.  Only the PM and the chief executive of the state can issue licences for prohibited bore weapons according to the new arms policy implemented this year. The majority of the 5,986 licences issued on the directives of former state minister for interior Tasneem Qureshi in 2009, were fake.

Lawmakers were informed that 138 fake licences were issued to American defence contractor, DynCorp, which paid $0.2 million as illegal gratification with assistance from the American envoy to Pakistan in 2009. Former additional secretary interior, Imtiaz Qazi, chief census commissioner Khizer Hayat Khan and Ramzan, a senior government officer were allegedly involved in issuing fake licences.

Interior Ministry officials said only 1,400 licences have been issued to citizens this year, while 9,197 forms were issued.

The proliferation of illegal weapons is the main cause for rising incidents of dacoities and target killings, said committee chairman Senator Tahir Hussain Mashahdi.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2011.