Licenses to be issued in order to register the weapons. PHOTO: EXPRESS FILE
A Home Department official, who requested not to be named, said that the Punjab had become the first province to start the computerisation of weapons’ licences.
“Special desks have been formed at DCOs’ offices across the province where NADRA officials will assist the district government staff in computerisation of the arms licences. In some districts, district government employees will work at NADRA offices,” he said.
He said that in the first phase, licences issued between 2009 and 2014 would be computerised.
Requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to talk to the media, a NADRA official said that a meeting of DCOs from all districts was held at NADRA’s Defence office last Saturday. “They were briefed by NADRA staff about the process of computerisation of weapons’ licences,” he said.
He said that the process would link the weapon’s licence number with the CNIC of the applicant. “We are helping the district government make a computerised database of the legal weapon owners apart from integrating it with their record. Previously, the federal government had provided them a software,” he said. “The applicants will be asked to fill out a form and submit two passport size photographs along with their original CNIC and the weapon’s licence,” he said.
Tariq Zaman, the personal staff officer to the Lahore DCO, said that two offices had been set up in Lahore for the purpose.
“Fresh photographs of the applicants will also be taken. They will also have to surrender their licence books. They will receive a certificate in return,” he said.
Citing the minutes of the meeting with the DCOs, the NADRA official said that the district government officials had said that at least three months would be needed to verify the licences record. “It will take at least three months to complete the process. In some districts, the record is available only in the manual form,” he said.
Zaman said that the Lahore city district government had been maintaining records in computerised format since 2009. The previous record, he said, was in manual form. “Licences issued before 2009 will be computerised in the next phase. After verification of licence books with the concerned DCO’s office, the owner will be issued a computerised licence,” he said.
Zaman said that the Home Department had given weapon owners till February 28 to get their licences computerised. Zaman said that Lahore had a quota of 200 new arms licences per month up till 2014. “For the rest of the districts in the Punjab, the ceiling was 125 licences per month. New licences are not being issued now,” he said.
The Home Department official said that the computerisation process would be directly monitored by their department. “The district governments have been directed to submit daily reports on their progress,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 30th, 2015.
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