Illegal weapons: Sindh admits it has its own 'Bara'

Sindh concedes illegal weapons proliferating in province. Directs fresh crackdown and computerisation of licences.

KARACHI: The Sindh government  confessed on Tuesday that the illegal trade of weapons was flourishing in the province and that one of its districts, Tando Allahyar, has become “Bara.”

Bara is a district in Khyber agency of FATA, which has gained notoriety for militancy.

This was disclosed during a meeting held at Chief Minister House on Tuesday.  The spokesperson for CM House, while quoting the meeting chaired by Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah, said that since there was a huge quantity of illegal weapons freely available in the whole province, police and Rangers have been directed to start crackdowns against sellers.

The meeting also decided to form a committee comprising the Additional Chief Secretary Home Department, Advocate General Sindh, prosecutor general and law secretary. They will consult the federal law ministry and suggest amendments for a draft bill which will be presented before the Sindh Assembly for being passed into law.

The proposed law would seek to implement a process of police verification of arms licenses. Additionally the process of computerisation of all arms licenses will be further enhanced.

Registration of arm licenses

The meeting was informed that more than 0.4 million arms licenses have been issued in the province while an amount of Rs750 million has been paid to NADRA for installation of computerised systems in the home department and at all divisional and district headquarters.

According to the system, owners of arms license will go to NADRA offices, fill up necessary forms which will be verified by respective Superintendent Police offices.

These machines will be installed in Karachi, Hyderabad and Larkana.

The meeting was informed that on through survey of bank branches it was known that about 90% security guards are untrained and cannot cater the needs of security.

Recruitment of 200 police personnel

The high level meeting also decided that the Sindh Police will recruit as many as 200 officers with law degrees. These highly qualified officers will then be trained and assigned the task of investigating and other legal requirements.

It was further decided that additional security and community policing would be encouraged will be initiated in old city areas, the SITE industrial area. It was decided to take legal action against those who opt to take the law into their hands and create problems.

The handout issued by CM House said that the chief minister Sindh while reviewing the performance during Ashura, congratulated the police, Rangers and other law enforcing agencies. He appreciated the prompt measures, coordinated efforts and other vigilance adopted by all forces and agencies, with the results as Muharam passed peacefully and no untoward incident took place.

Officials highlighted the detailed reports, performance, and various issues brought to the fore following the passing of the 18th amendment.

It was informed that from 2008 to date, there was a 39.75 per cent conviction rate for criminals by various courts in the province. As many as 15798 cases were still pending.

The Chief Minister noted that there is a need for amendments in certain laws including the arms act.