Govt Lifts Ban on Non-Prohibited Bore Arms Licenses

The government of Pakistan, back in 2013, placed a ban on the issuance of arms licenses as part of its de-weaponization policy to control illegally issued licenses in the capital. However, the ban on new arms licenses has been lifted and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been devised to issue arms licenses again.

The Interior Ministry gave the go-ahead in a recent notification:

• The ban on the issuance of Non-Prohibited Bore (NPB) Arms License has been lifted. Licenses will now be issued for non-automatic or semi-automatic shotguns and pistols or revolvers.
• All guidelines outlined by the Ministry will be followed before the NPB license is issued.

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Cabinet Annuls Ban on Arms Licence Issuance

In pursuance of the notification issued by Ministry of Interior dated 26.12.2017, ban on non-issuance of NPB Arms License has been lifted. NPB licenses will be issued after completion of all legal/codal formalities in light of directions issued through a policy of interior ministry.

The Procedure

This is the procedure for applying for a new arms license in the federal capital:

• A written application will need to be submitted to the district administration.
• These applications will then be processed at the Citizen Facilitation Centre of the ICT Administration Complex in G-11/4 Islamabad.
• The Special Branch will conduct a separate inquiry regarding verification and vetting of the applications and applicants.

The whole procedure, from submission of the application to the issuance of the license, will take two weeks. Authorities say that as many as 100 licenses will be issued monthly. NADRA will be the authority issuing the arms licenses once they have been approved.