ISLAMABAD: If the huge number of illegal arms seized over the past five years by law enforcement agencies is anything to go by, the problem of illegal weapons seems to have become endemic in the country.
A report the federal interior ministry prepared after compiling data from the four provinces shows that all kinds of weapons were recovered from people who had been keeping them without licences.
According to the report, from 2008 to 2012 Punjab police seized 2,700 unlicensed Kalashnikovs, 11,453 rifles, 18,802 guns, 15,715 revolvers and 93,224 pistols. They also seized 18,815 carbines, 17,577 daggers and 3,808 hand grenades.
Over the same period, Sindh police confiscated 2,900 unlicensed Kalashnikovs, 43,866 pistols, 3,000 revolvers and over 1,000 carbines.
As expected, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police seized more illegal weapons than security personnel in the other provinces.
The tribal areas in the province are known for producing arms which are supplied across the country.
According to the report, police in the province impounded over 20,000 unlicensed Kalashnikovs, 140,774 pistols/revolvers and 33,500 shotguns/repeaters over the last five years.
During their raids, police also seized nearly 200,000 detonators, which are used in bombs. A huge quantity of dynamite was also seized.
Although Baluchistan is in the grip of militancy and suffers sectarian violence, its police recovered only a limited number of illegal weapons.
They confiscated 877 unlicensed Kalashnikovs, 330 rifles, 300 pistols/revolvers, 400 shotguns, 250 rocket launchers and a huge quantity of explosives in the last five years.
During the period, Islamabad police seized 98 Kalashnikovs, 385 rifles, 367 guns and 3,368 pistols.
A ministry official with access to information about the report said that the data represented only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
He said the number of people keeping illegal weapons was increasing. Internews
