Seeking repeal: Outgoing govt’s rushed arms act challenged in court

Petitioner seeks repeal of the act on basis that it violates fundamental rights.

HYDERABAD:

The Sindh Arms Act 2013, one of the last pieces of legislation rushed through the Sindh Assembly in February, has been challenged in the Sindh High Court. The petitioner, advocate Mumtaz Lashari, sought repeal of the law as it violated fundamental rights.

The new law introduced additional requirements to obtain a weapons licence, increased the punishment for possessing illegal weapon to a life term and conferred unprecedented powers on the policemen.

The law also increased the minimum age for having licenced weapons from 18 to 25 and made the Sindh permanent residence certificate mandatory to obtain a licence.

Lashari has, however, only challenged the provisions related to life imprisonment and giving an assistant sub-inspector the powers to arrest and register an FIR against a suspect. He pointed out that Sindh is the only province that has such a law.

He invoked the article 199 (1-c) of the Constitution and pleaded the court intervene and undo it.

The bench, comprising Justice Habibur Rehman and Justice Aqeel Abbasi, issued notices to the federal government, Sindh chief secretary and provincial home and law secretaries for the second week of June.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2013.