Pakistan Cuts Arms Licence Issuance By Over 90%

The federal government has dramatically tightened the process for obtaining non-prohibited-bore arms licences, cutting their issuance by more than 90%. The Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control was informed on Monday that just 5,700 licences had been granted over the past 13 months under stricter eligibility requirements.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry told the committee, chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, that more than 100,000 arms licences had previously been issued each year.

Under the new requirements, applicants must obtain a police character certificate before applying. They are also required to secure a recommendation from a parliamentarian, with each National Assembly constituency restricted to issuing only five recommendations per month.

Prohibited-bore arms licences remain limited to entitled individuals, including parliamentarians, judges, army and police officers, and recipients of national awards.

Officials also informed the committee that there is currently no policy governing business-category arms licences in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former Fata region. The Ministry of Interior will provide the committee with details on procedures applicable to special cases.

Regarding Afghan visas, Tallal Chaudhry said applications are subjected to due diligence, while requests for extensions are assessed individually, mainly on humanitarian grounds involving students and people seeking medical treatment.