A civil society activist, Naeem Sadiq, has sought information under the Federal Right for Access to Information Act 2017 from Interior Secretary about the number of bore gun licenses issued to members of the banned Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) by the federal government in the last ten years.
He wrote, “I am a citizen of Pakistan. The recent violent protests by the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) resulted in the death of at least 7 and injuries to over 200 policemen, burning of police vehicles and destruction of government property.
Police has confirmed that the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, using more than a dozen lethal weapons such as sub-machine guns (SMGs) fired more than 80 rounds of SMG, to kill policemen on duty, during the Kamoke violence.
As a Pakistani I am deeply concerned as to why the successive governments have been appeasing and issuing prohibited bore gun licenses to violent groups who constantly threaten the writ, the peace and the prosperity of Pakistan.”
In his request, the applicant has put forth three questions, which are as follows.
“1. How many prohibited and non-prohibited bore gun licenses have been issued to the proscribed Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan, in the last 10 years by the Federal Government.
2. If the TLP used unlicensed weapons, kindly intimate the measures your government shall take to ensure surrender of weapons and prosecution of the criminals for possessing and using illegal weapons.
3. Why has your ministry consistently violated Article 256 of the Constitution of Pakistan, which prohibits all private armies and militias. Clearly the highly armed TLP and scores of other similar armed militias continue to flourish in Pakistan.”
