KARACHI: The city’s largest market for arms and ammunition is at Lucky Star in Saddar, followed by Zamzama in DHA, with one or two more shops here and there. “Still,” Mohammad Asim Afridi of Guns for Defence points out, “we won’t sell you anything unless you show us your arms licence. This is Karachi, not the tribal belt.”

After acquiring a weapon for your protection, it is also good to join a gun club for practice. “You can do some research on shooting or firing ranges here. There are several military shooting ranges here that may welcome you. Membership fee may be a bit expensive but it is important,” Mr Afridi says.

A buyer needs to get their arms licence in hand before heading off to an arms dealer to buy a weapon. The procedure involves getting a licence and buying a weapon to fill in its name and type in the blank space provided on that licence within a time duration to keep it from lapsing. “You are not going anywhere with the bride without Nikah,” the gun shop owner smiles while shaking his head.

Thereafter, you are to get the weapon registered with the police station. “We keep a copy of your licence along with a copy of your CNIC for our records. For our satisfaction, we also have several cameras recording every deal that takes place in our shop,” he explains. “Selling arms cannot be taken lightly,” he adds.

The arms dealers here are always extra careful when selling anyone a weapon. “We have caught people coming to us with a cousin or someone else’s licence. Guns are expensive things. Those selling other things must feel happy when making a big sale but we are different. We have to be. We carry a huge responsibility on our shoulders. It’s like a matter of life and death. So we may even report them to the authorities. You have to keep in mind that a criminal will never use a licensed weapon for committing a crime. The weapons we sell here are for protection. We also sell to security companies,” Mr Afridi explains.

Bullets for the weapons are also not so readily available. There is a quota mentioned in everyone’s arms licence. In the beginning, a licence holder may only be allowed 24 bullets in a year with a sub clause that permits you not to buy more than 12 at a time.

The rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers available in the shops range from Rs12,000 to hundreds of thousands. The ones considered among the best are made in Italy, the Czech Republic, China, Brazil and Turkey but there are Pakistani guns, too, which are good copies of the foreign brands and may be as cheap as Rs20,000 or under. Of course, the 9mm pistol, the most popular personal weapon all over the would, is also what most people like to have here. One of the reasons for this is the size of the bullet. It is available everywhere. Also, it is non-prohibited bore and it’s licence fee isn’t too steep.

Apart from guns and bullets, the market also has separate shops for holsters, etc. Ali Asghar at Mohammadi Enterprises sells no weapons, except for airguns, which people buy for their kids for target practice. His speciality includes holsters, vests, belts and bags to carry weapons and bullets. He also sells brushes and oil for cleaning weapons. “There are different oils for different bore guns,” he says.

Meanwhile, a gentleman at the shop is trying on something like a ladies purse. He laughs when someone asks if he is shopping for his wife. He says: “I am a hunter. This is not a purse but a pouch for carrying shotgun bullets during hunting expeditions.”

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016