RAWALPINDI: Authorities at the Nur Khan Airbase and Benazir Bhutto International Airport authorities are concerned about stray bullets that land on their premises and have asked the district police chief to investigate and identify people who are involved in firing in the air which can be a major flight safety hazard.

In early September bullets were found in the aerodrome during a drill, and on September 25 a laser beam was shined on a Pakistan International Airlines flight taking off for Bahawalpur, from the Sadiqabad neighbourhood.

The flight was given a security clearance after no threat was found and police combed Chah Sultan and Kurri Road area of Sadiqabad for the perpetrator.

Authorities explained that bullets landing in this sensitive area can cause damage to the parked aircraft and can be a danger to the VVIP terminal and other sensitive installations.

The issue requires immediate attention of the local police responsible for maintaining security in and around the airport.

According to security sources, the authorities concerned wrote to district police a number of times asking them to pay attention to the problem of firing and understand the dire consequences of stray bullets landing inside the airport.

But the police were unable to chalk out a strategy to impose the government’s ban on firing in the air.

A police officer talking to Dawn said that whenever anyone is caught ignoring the government ban, action is taken against them. “I can’t deny that bullet casings have been found inside the airport premises but that does not necessarily mean that anybody has tried targeting airplanes.”

Residents expressed concern over the dangers of celebratory firing and said that they have frequently made complaints to the police. “I don’t recall any public awareness campaign about the dangers of firing in the air and the consequences of stray bullets landing in the wrong place,” Aftab Ahmed, an old resident of the city told Dawn.

All over Pakistan, stray bullets from celebratory firing kill and injure many each year.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd, 2014