Punjab govt bans issuance of arms licences

ISLAMABAD: The Punjab government on Saturday decided to ban the issuance of arms licences to the common man, ARY News reported.

According to sources, the Punjab cabinet committee approved a summary seeking a ban on the issuance of new arms licences to the common man. After the approval of the provincial chief minister, a notification will be issued in this regard, the sources added.

However, the cabinet committee has tightened SOPs for the issuance of arms licences to the VIPs and the government officers. The committee also decided to transfer the powers pertaining to the arms licences to the deputy commissioners in the province.

Earlier on February 23, the Punjab government had decided not to extend the date for the computerisation of manual arms licences.

The Punjab home department’s spokesperson had said in a statement that the date for converting manual arms licences to computerised version would not be extended anymore.

The home department had announced that the manual arms licences would be considered as cancelled after December 31, 2020.