The federal cabinet yesterday approved a new de-weaponisation gun law that aims at seizing illegal weapons from people in all four provinces. It warned that violators of this move would face heavy fines and jail terms.

Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider, who later addressed a press briefing to explain the salient features of the cabinet decision, said that the government would proceed with an iron hand to deal with the problem of illegal weapons. The minister agreed that there were countless illegal weapons in the country.

The national action plan to rid the country of weapons had long been under the active consideration of various governments, which met with failure to achieve any degree of success in the wake of resistance from the people, especially in the tribal areas. But the minister vowed yesterday that weapons of prohibited bore and rocket launchers would be recovered.

"Illegal weapons have really been a threat to the country and its citizens," Haider said and agreed that the ousted government of Nawaz Sharif, too, had worked on the same plan but had failed.

"We are, however, determined to eradicate this menace from the country," the minister said.
He said that a rigorous campaign would soon be under way to inform people of Pakistan about the problem and urge them to surrender illegal weapons to the government. Later, the law would take its course and severe punishments would be awarded to those who did not heed the government announcement.

The minister said that religious and political parties had generally cooperated with the government and enforced a ban on the display of arms in their political meetings and religious congregations.

Haider said that the cabinet had also decided to restrict issuance of any new licences of arms and establish public safety commissions in the four provinces. Similarly, police complaint cells would be setup.

Earlier, an official spokesman said that Chief Executive, General Pervez Musharraf commended the governments of the Punjab and Sindh on having amicably resolved the water issue arising out of the current shortage in a spirit of accommodation and understanding.

He said it was a matter of satisfaction that the two provinces acted in the best national interest with the province of Punjab sacrificing its share of water to help the brothers from Sindh at a time of their crisis.