Minister says that the current government has a stricter policy, licenses with prohibited drilling are issued only to eligible persons
Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Home Affairs, chairs a committee meeting at Parliament House, Islamabad, on January 27, 2026. Photo: X
The Senate Standing Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday directed authorities to crack down on arms licenses issued to non-tax filers while also discussing a number of law and order issues, particularly in the riverine areas of Sindh and Punjab.
The meeting was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Saleem with the members briefed on the issue of arms licences.
Members were informed that 2,962 non-registrants and 189 tax filers were issued gun permits in 2024, while in the following year 2,696 non-registrants and 848 tax filers were granted.
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The committee chairman questioned the rationale behind issuing licenses to non-registrants and ordered that such licenses be cancelled.
Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry informed the committee that in earlier periods gun licenses had been issued in large numbers, but the current government had adopted a stricter policy whereby no-bore licenses are now issued only to eligible persons.
He requested that permits of non-registrants not be canceled immediately and that they be given time to become tax applicants.
After deliberations, the committee decided that notices should be issued to all unregistered permit holders, giving them time to regularize their fiscal status, failing which their permits would be cancelled.
The committee also discussed the law and order situation, especially in the river area. Senator Talha Mahmood raised concern over the failure to control dacoits and stated that two persons from his constituency had been abducted and later released after payment of ransom.
Reacting to the concerns, Sindh Police Chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said operations were underway to eliminate criminals, adding that seven senior police inspectors were involved in the efforts. He said the area fell along the Sindh-Punjab border and claimed that no such incidents had taken place there during the last six months due to police efforts.
On a query by Senator Dinesh Kumar regarding the abduction of Hindu girl Priya Kumari from Badin, the committee sought an explanation for the delay in her recovery. The Sindh police chief informed the committee that the girl was abducted from Sukkur on 19 August 2021.
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He said studies had involved more than 1,000 individuals, including nomadic groups, and that AI-generated images had been circulated. Assistance of Punjab Police and Federal Investigation Agency had also been sought, he added, noting that it was suspected that the abductors may have handed over the girl to dacoits operating in the riverine area.
The issue of police misconduct also came up for discussion. Senator Samina Mumtaz Zehri sought an update on the Jacobabad incident involving the gang-rape of a minor girl by police officials.
Memon said a case had been registered against all involved, including the station house officer (SHO). He said the SHO was not present at the police station at the time of the incident and four police officials had gang-raped a minor girl from a custodial family, repeatedly entering the room wearing masks.
He said such officers had no right to remain in the police force and legal proceedings were ongoing.
Senator Zehri said she did not feel safe in a country where police officers could rape a minor girl while she was in custody.
Chaudhry informed the committee that a major operation was underway in the riverine area and added that Memon was making serious efforts against dacoits. He said that law and order challenges existed everywhere and claimed that Lahore was safer than London and New York.
In response, Senator Samina Mumtaz said that only two percent of criminals were convicted in Pakistan. She added that immediate action was being taken against rape in London and questioned how such cases are handled in the country.
Commenting on the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, the Prime Minister stressed that all four provinces should be asked how they had used funds received under the NFC award to improve law and order, and called for an audit of those funds.
He said Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa had received Rs5 trillion under the NFC award along with another Rs800 billion for security and questioned how these funds had been spent while reiterating that after the 18th amendment, security was a provincial issue.
Senator Umar Farooq said that terrorism-related challenges were being faced in KP and Balochistan and urged that these provinces be treated at par with others. The minister said a comprehensive policy was being drafted, but noted that provinces also needed to be compared on security initiatives.
