Speakers demand tougher gun laws

PESHAWAR: Speakers at a seminar have demanded the government to amend Arms Rules of 1924 and Pakistan Arms Ordinance of 1965 to increase the penalty for possessing illegal arms to 10 years in prison.

They demanded sensible gun laws, easy access to dangerous weapons reduced, cutting firearm access to youth and individuals who are at risk of harming themselves or others. The seminar was arranged at the Peshawar Press Club on Sunday in connection with the Global Week of Action against Gun Violence.

Civil Society organisations including Blue Veins, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network, Rashid Shaheed Foundation (RSF), Peace Justice and Youth Organization, Group Development Organisation, and TransAction KP had joined hands for the event.

The seminar was aimed at advocating collectively for an end to illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons with the “End the crisis of Gun Violence.”The speakers said that the gun industry should be made accountable to ensure that there is an adequate check on the marketing and sales of guns and ammunition.

They called for engaging responsible gun dealers and owners in finding solutions. Sana Ahmad, a youth rights activist, said that gun violence in Pakistan had a disproportionate impact on youth. She said the issue needed to be addressed through threadbare discussions.

Taimur Kamal, Coordinator Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Civil Society Network, lamented that gun violence had been part of our day-to-day life for since long. Imran Takkar, a child rights activist, said that the civil society activist focused the human costs of small arms and light weapons, regulation measures and transfer controls.

According to the data shared by Gunpolicy.org, the estimated total number of guns (both licit and illicit) held by civilians in Pakistan is 2017 are 43,917,0001. The data reflects that the number of licensed gun owners in Pakistan by the year 2014 is reported to be 352,843 and the number of registered guns in Pakistan by the year 2017 is reported to be 6,000,000.

The unregistered and unlawfully held guns cannot be counted, but in Pakistan, there is a classification of the world’s small, medium and major firearm manufacturers.Pakistan was ranked ‘medium’ and the number of unregistered and unlawful weapons in 2017 is estimated to be 37,917,000.