The Ministry of Interior has finalised its recommendations over issuance of arms licences and is likely to take final decision in this regard next month.

"The recommendations regarding issuance of arms licences have been finalised in order to provide arms licences to people who need them," said Secretary of Ministry of Interior, Arif Ahmed Khan while briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control, which met with MNA Rana Shamim Ahmad Khan in the chair.

Khan further said that at present he cannot share the details of recommendations proposed by the Ministry of Interior as final decision has not been taken yet. MNA Ghalib Khan said that the Ministry of Interior during the last three years has neither succeeded to prepare new arms licence policy nor could it have verified the licenses issued during the tenure of the previous government.

"Because of incompetence of the ministry, general public and especially members of Parliament are facing problems," he added.

The committee took up some government and private members' bills and held detailed decision over them. The parliamentary panel unanimously passed "The illegal Dispossession (Amendment) Bill, 2016."

However, MNA Salman Khan Baloch opposed the bill. He said that the committee should defer the bill till next meeting as members have not yet studied it. During the meeting, Shamim Ahmad Khan and Salman Balochi also exchanged harsh words with each other.

The parliamentary penal also passed "The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2014," a private member bill seeking increase in punishment for theft. The committee has approved the bill and increased punishment of theft from three year imprisonment to five years.

The committee constituted a sub-committee under the convenorship of Syed Javed Ali Shah. The sub-committee will be considered all private members' bills lying pending before the main committee and submit its report within thirty days to the main committee. MNAs Syed Javed Ali Shah, Sheikh Muhammad Akram, Syed Iftikhar-ul-Hassan, Mian Shahid Hussain Khan Bhatti, Salman Khan Baloch, Naeema Kishwer Khan, Sher Akber Khan, Kishwer Zehra, Asiya Nasir and Surriya Asghar also attended the meeting.

-Business Recorder