Home Ministry imposes ban on carrying arms in Sindh

The order was passed under Section 144, previously issued permission letters also cancelled.

KARACHI: With elections just around the corner and election campaigns set to commence very soon, the Sindh home ministry has imposed a ban on carrying and exhibiting any kind of arms and weapons in the province, Express News reported on Thursday.

The order was passed under Section 144 and previously issued permission letters were also cancelled.

In January, the Sindh government had banned the issuance of new weapons’ licenses until the general election following the proposal of Chief of Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) Fakharuddin G Ebrahim, who had recommended banning new permits for weapons during a meeting of the election commission in January to finalise security and administrative arrangements for the elections.

More than 400,000 gun permits had been issued in the province during the past four years, an official had said. Earlier, the home department had issued a new weapons license policy following an apex court order, directing the authorities to only give gun permits to individuals aged 25 or above.