Empowering provinces to import arms opposed

NOC condition mooted to serve purpose of end user certificate

ISLAMABAD:

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Ministry of Interior (MoI) -- including the cabinet members --have opposed transferring powers from federal to provincial governments to grant permission for the import of arms and ammunitions.

The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) noted that during an inter-ministerial meeting on May 7, 2020 attended by the representatives of Ministries of Commerce and Interior, FBR and Nadra, it was proposed that SRO 772(1)/2018 may be amended by adding the condition that import of arms and ammunition would also be subjected to NOC from the MoI for licence holders belonging to Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and from the provincial home departments concerned for licence holders belonging to the respective province.

The meeting maintained that the NOC condition would serve the purpose of end user certificate required by foreign dealers for selling arms to importers from Pakistan and would help in monitoring imports of arms by customs authorities.

Subsequently, the proposal was shared with all the provincial home departments, MoI and FBR.

The governments of AJK and G-B had asked for the same treatment meted out to other provinces ie issuance of NOC for import of arms and ammunition by the home departments.

However, the interior ministry and FBR in their observations to the PM Office stated that the MoI may issue NOC for import of arms and ammunition by arms license holders of AJK and G-B.

The Commerce Division informed a recent cabinet meeting that the Import Policy Order（IPO), 2020 had banned the import of certain arms and ammunition which were listed at Sr No 35-40 of Appendix-A of IPO, 2020.

However, import of some of the arms and ammunition was allowed subject to conditions listed at Sr No 62 of Appendix-B of Import Policy Order IPO), 2020.

In view of the difficulties faced by commercial dealers in importing arms and ammunition, it was deemed appropriate to amend SRO 772(1)/2018 so that import of weapon allowed under the policy may be carried out without any hindrance.

In view of the stakeholders’ consultation, proposals were submitted to the Cabinet for consideration.

It was suggested that the regulation of arms import should remain with the federal government, rather than transferring it to provinces.

Referring to the local arms manufacturing industry in the erstwhile Fata districts, the prime minister underscored the need to devise a policy for protecting the local arms industry by adding value to their products through better marketing mechanism and augmented quality control.

The MoI, referring to the proposal submitted by the Commerce Division, informed the Cabinet that a policy regarding issuance of arms licenses was ready to be presented before the Cabinet.

It was suggested that the proposal of the Commerce Division be examined in the backdrop of the arms licence policy and a combined proposal be presented before the Cabinet.

The Cabinet considered the summary titled Amendment in the Policy of Import of NPB Arms and Ammunition submitted by the Commerce Division, and returned it with the direction that the Commerce Division should bring a consolidated proposal, in consultation with the Interior Division, in the light of the new arms licence policy.

The Cabinet further directed the Minister of Industries and Production to formulate a policy for protecting the local arms industry by devising way and means to add value to their products through improved marketing mechanism and augmented quality control.