K-P civil society demand end to gun violence

Guns responsible for about half of all violent deaths nearly a quarter million each year

PESHAWAR: In relation to global week of action against gun violence, civil society organisation including Blue Veins, Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network (PCSN), Chaiperchal, TransAction K-P, MRCP, organised a seminar to advocate collectively for an end to illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

The seminar with the theme, "End the crisis of Gun Violence", here on Saturday highlighted that every day, hundreds of lives are lost due to gun violence worldwide. Guns are responsible for about half of all violent deaths nearly a quarter million each year. But the dire consequences of gun violence are not limited to those slain by guns.

For every person killed by a gun, many more are injured, maimed, and forced to flee their home and community. Still many more live under constant threats of gun violence.

Program Coordinator Blue Veins, Qamar Naseem said that ending gun violence is not the duty of the state alone, to end this crisis. We must work together and foster cooperation on this critical issue among all stakeholders, government, international, regional and sub-regional organisations, research institutes, private companies, and civil society organisations-, pool our experience, strength and expertise.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2018.