Bill passed to make ballistic signatures of arms compulsory

Arms dealer after selling a weapon will provide two empty cartridges fired from it to the forensic lab

To help investigate target killings and terrorism through forensic science, the Sindh Assembly unanimously passed into law the Sindh Arms (Amendment) Bill, 2016 on Wednesday to make recording of “ballistic signatures” compulsory of every legally sold licensed weapon in the province.

The statement of objectives of the bill reads: “To initiate the development of a state-of-the-art forensic lab to help out the law enforcement agencies to investigate target killing, terrorism related and other cases and to include in the forensic lab, the mechanism of ballistic signature verification, it is expedient to amend the Sindh Arms Act, 2013.”

Earlier, the Sindh Assembly’s standing committee on home department examined the amendment bill in detail and approved it to be passed by the assembly. The bill amended the Sindh Arms Act, 2013 and for the purpose of introducing the system of recording of ballistic signatures of legally purchased weapons, inserted a new section in the law.

The bill envisaged section 4-A to be incorporated in arms the law.

Following are the steps provided in the new section 4-A of for introducing the system of ballistic signatures:

1. The arms dealer shall ensure taking verified thumb impressions of the purchaser (of the licensed weapon) from the National Database and Registration Authority and taking their CNIC copies and other particulars which will be notified from time to time and shall forward to forensic lab for record keeping.

2. The arms dealer shall immediately after selling any weapon will provide two empty cartridges fired from it to the forensic lab for the registration of ballistic signatures.

3. The arms dealer shall ensure to register the weapon in the forensic lab, along with all particulars including its make, model, receipts, and ballistic signature etc.

4. The officials in the forensic lab shall collect the samples of two empty cartridges or bullets after immediate fire from weapons purchased and shall keep the record.

 5. After the completion of registration, the purchaser shall be allowed to possess the weapon.

Action against BIEK

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said in the Sindh Assembly that examination boards in the province would be rid of corruption and those involved malpractices would not be spared.

Responding to a call attention notice by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Khurrum Sher Zaman, the chief minister said the Anti-Corruption Establishment of the province had raided the offices of Board of Intermediate Education in Karachi and registered an FIR No 38/2016. Two officials were arrested there, of whom an assistant controller had secured bail from a court.  Some 95 answer scripts of candidates were seized from the BIEK office.

“The action to detect and purge corruption from the BIEK is still under way,” Shah said. He said the vacant positions at examination boards had been filled while new people would be hired in place of the officials whose service contracts were due to expire.

The chief minister said the Anti-Corruption Establishment had raided the BIEK office because of the corruption under way there and action was being taken. “Those involved in corruption at the board office will be punished,” he added.

He said a system of correct marking of answer scripts would be introduced at the board offices.

Speaking on his call-attention notice, the PTI legislator said Sindh Rangers in their correspondence to chief minister on the issue had said the money minted through corrupt practices at educational boards in the city was sent to the “London Secretariat”.

Speaking on a point of order, MPA Faisal Ali Subzwari of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said on one hand, an operation was under way against terrorists in Karachui while on the other, terrorists were targeting political activists.

He said MQM activists were being targeted by terrorists in Landhi, Korangi, Malir, Lines Area and other localities of the city.  

The MQM lawmaker said the government should ensure that these terrorists were arrested.

Responding to a call-attention notice of MQM MPA Jamal Ahmed, local government minister Jam Khan Shoro said the provincial government had released Rs500 million for the cleaning and improvement of storm-water drains in Karachi.

He said the provincial government had to release this sum for as a grant provided by it was being used for meeting the recurring expenses of district municipal corporations for the payment of municipal employees’ salaries.

He said a major operation had been launched to remove encroachments from Gujjar Nullah, whereas encroachments were also removed from Mahmoodabad Nullah.

He said that every DMC in the city was given Rs20 million for cleaning storm-water drains.

A former mayor of the city had demanded Rs3 billion for cleaning Gujjar Nullah while the provincial government had carried out this task without spending a large sum of money, he maintained. He said the drainage situation in the city during the recent monsoon season was relatively better because of the cleaning of storm-water drains.

To a call attention of PTI’s Dr Seema Zia, the local government minister said all advertising billboards and illegal water supply hydrants had been removed in Karachi on the directives of the apex court.  

MRD martyrs

The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed a resolution to pay tribute to political activists who had participated in the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) and were killed or inured for the cause.

PPP MPA Ghulam Qadir Chandio moved the resolution, which read: “The House pays glowing tributes to the martyrs of Movement of Restoration of Democracy in 1983 and 1986. The exemplary sacrifices from village Punhal Khan Chandio, Sakrand, District Benazirabad are laudable wherein 16 youth were martyred and 53 seriously injured.”

The resolution was moved on the eve of the 33rd anniversary of action taken against the villagers of Punhal Khan Chandio who had participated in the MRD. Chandio said in his speech that 33 years ago, 16 youngsters were killed, 52 seriously injured, and scores of others arrested for participating in the movement for restoring democracy in the country.

He said because of such sacrifices, elected representatives of the masses were presently sitting in the legislatures of the country.