Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab govt goes after illicit arms

LAHORE: The Punjab government on Friday decided to introduce new laws with the key objectives of arms regulation, drone policing and coordinated security in mind as Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz chaired a meeting on law and order situation in the province.

Read more: Ministers say violence won’t be tolerated, TLP will face action

Friday also saw the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad issuing a notification to declare the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) a proscribed organisation — a move that started with the Punjab government seeking a ban on the entity after recent violence.

During the meeting, officials gave the chief minister as detailed briefing which mentioned the introduction of Surrender of Illegal Arms Act, 2025 among other measures.

The new law concerning the illicit arms would be implemented in three phases, starting with a 15-day period to the hand over the illegal weapons to the government.

KEEPING ARMS TO BE MADE DIFFICULT

On the other hand, authorities will also check the licensed weapons, which total around one million in Punjab. For this purpose, both the owners and the weapons will go through a detailed scrutiny.

Meanwhile, the registered security guards the law enforcement agencies personnel would be allowed to keep weapons. But the employees of private security firms are supposed to connected with the Police Helpline 15.

To discourage the practice of weapons culture, the government has decided to fix 14-year imprisonment as the sentence for arms trafficking and keeping illegal arms.

Meanwhile, the yearly licence fee for the licensed weapons will witness a 100-percent increase.

To stop arms trafficking, modern scanners would be installed at 14 entry points of Punjab.

DRONE POLICING

Another feature is the drone policing which the authorities will employ in case of any crime or emergency situation for swift, organised and digital reaction. Initially, drone policing will be introduced as a pilot project before being expanded to entire Punjab.