• Only 5,700 non-prohibited-bore arms licences issued in 13 months, Senate body told
• Tallal Chaudhry says 60pc of those involved in terrorism incidents in KP and Balochistan were Afghan nationals

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has cut the issuance of non-prohibited-bore arms licences by more than 90 per cent, with only 5,700 licences issued over the past 13 months under strict criteria, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control was informed on Monday.

Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry told the committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, that more than 100,000 arms licences had previously been issued annually. He said a police character certificate was now mandatory to ensure that people with criminal records did not obtain licences.

A parliamentarian’s recommendation was also required, with each National Assembly constituency limited to five recommendations per month. The minister added that prohibited-bore licences were issued strictly to entitled persons, including parliamentarians, judges, army and police officers, and recipients of national awards.

Officials said there was no policy for issuing business-category arms licences in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former Fata. The ministry would brief the committee on the procedure for dealing with special cases.

On visas for Afghan nationals, Mr Chaudhry said no visa was issued without due diligence and that extensions were granted on a case-by-case basis, mainly on humanitarian grounds for students and those requiring medical treatment.

He said around one million Afghans had been issued visas over two years when relations with the neighbouring country were normal.

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) informed the committee that Afghan visa applications were processed under 18 categories handled by the Ministry of Interior and four by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly for businesspeople and students. However, delays occurred due to security clearances.

Senator Talha Mahmood said there should be some relaxation in the visa policy for businessmen and students.

Mr Chaudhry told the committee that 60 per cent of those involved in terrorism incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were Afghan nationals.

“Afghanistan is our neighbour but its intentions are not right,” he said.

He ad­­ded that Afghan nationals had also been involved in terrorism incidents in Islam­abad and in the murder of trader Aamir.

The committee was informed that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) does not routinely check passengers’ mobile phones or social media accounts at airports.

“We do not check anyone’s mobile phone at the airport. Only those about whom we have information regarding human smuggling are checked. We also do not check the social media of any passenger,” an FIA official said.

Mr Chaudhry, without naming any country, said, “When I went abroad with my family, all of our social media was checked.”

The committee was briefed on an intelligence-based Sindh Police operation in District Shikarpur that resulted in the recovery of minor girl Huram Saeed Pathan, who was kidnapped from Karachi on March 28, 2026, and another trafficked victim, Jennifer Amir.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2026