Fresh drive launched to recover illegal arms

A much-trumpeted campaign to recover illegal arms is due to get under way in Pakistan today, with the military regime determined to accomplish the difficult mission that successive civilian governments tried but failed.

Citizens have been asked to avail a two-week amnesty to deposit unauthorized arms. After the expiry of the period, the authorities will go into action to flush out illegal weapons and book offenders, officials said.

It took the interior ministry headed by retired lieutenant general Moinuddin Haider several months to finalise a comprehensive arms recovery strategy in consultation with authorities in all four provinces of the country.

Interior Secretary Tanseen Noorani said that a three day awareness campaign would start in the media today. People with unlicensed weapons should surrender them between June 5 and June 20. After the deadline, there will be a crackdown, though the method is left to the four provincial governments. "Those who do so will get licenses to keep arms of unprohibited bore," Noorani said.

The government is setting up a central control room to oversee the progress of the campaign, he said adding that the drives would be carried out without any letup. About private arms manufacturing workshops functioning since in the tribal belt along the borders with Afghanistan he said the government would take steps to provide alternative jobs in order to discourage the practices.

No official estimate is available about the number of Kalashnikov assault rifles and other categories of arms that are possessed without license by individuals or groups of different denominations.

Their number is believed to be enormous and the proliferation of arms is cited as a major factor in rising crime and violence. The crackdown is seen as a major test for the government of General Pervez Musharraf, who took over the reins of the country two years ago, promising to restore health to the ailing economy and curb lawlessness and violence.

One of the main areas of concern in the context of the arms recovery drive is the southern port city of Karachi, which has a history of ethnic, religious and political violence that claimed thousands of lives over the past five years. The troubled city is believed to be awash with unlicensed arms.

Reports recently said the government intended to absorb private workers equipped with arms manufecturing skills in the state ordinance factories. Analysts say the tribal areas in NWFP and the battalions of private guards that tribal chieftains are known to maintain in Balochistan may pose difficulties in the way of the campaign.

The strategy drawn up by the government takes into account the sensitivities of tribal people who are used to carry personal arms as a habit and manly ornament in their typical custom-ridden social setup.