Uniform laws: K-P approves policy to extend arms licences

All Pakistan’ licences received by the provinces would be referred to the federal interior ministry for approval. PHOTO: FILE

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Home and Tribal Affairs department has approved a policy whereby arms licences issued by the department would be valid all over Pakistan.
A meeting at the federal level was held in this regard on Friday where in it was decided all provincial home departments may have the authority to extend the validity of arms licences issued to private security companies by the concerned province, stated a handout of the K-P Home and Tribal Affairs department.

The licence would be deemed valid all over the country through a special card or stamp titled ‘All Pakistan’.
It was also decided in the meeting that the governments of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) would issue licences for their respective areas.
The application for ‘All Pakistan’ licences received by the provinces would be referred to the federal interior ministry for approval. If a company submits the application directly to the federal ministry, the ministry will seek comments from the respective provinces for issuance of non-prohibited bore (NPB) weapons to private security companies.

Companies wanting to operate in other provinces have thus been advised to submit a fresh application for licences to the respective provincial government, added the handout.
It was also observed during the meeting that groundwork is being laid to present the case in front of the Council of Common Interests in order to get the consent of the provinces.