Child development: Protest held against sale of toy guns

MINGORA:

Art and Culture Association and NGO Hunar Kor Pukhtoonkhwa held a rally against toy guns in Mingora on Sunday. A large number of activists walked from China Market to Swat Press Club where they protested. They urged the government to ban the sale of toy guns across the country.

Speaking on the occasion, participants said the country has been marred by militancy and extremism. Weapons of all kind, including plastic replicas, will only add fuel
to fire, they added.

During the protest, pamphlets about child development were distributed amongst shop owners of the area. Many children were also seen carrying placards with slogans against toy guns inscribed on them.

Earlier this week, the district administration of Peshawar banned the sale of toy guns for a period of one month in an attempt to curb sky rocketing sales of the toy during Eid. The orders were given by Peshawar DC Riaz Mehsud in keeping with Section 144. On June 10, a 12-year-old boy was accidentally gunned down by a teacher on the outskirts of Mingora. Majid Khan, a teacher at Sangota Public School, Swat was cleaning his pistol in the staff room when he accidentally pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Maaz Khan, a student of class five who was passing through the corridor, killing him on the spot.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2015.