ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: There are nine illegal arms for every licensed weapon currently held by individuals in the country.

According to officials at the Ministry of Interior there were approximately 18 million illegally-held weapons in Pakistan compared to some two million weapons that were in the hands of legally-licensed owners.

The figure of two million legally authorized weapons in Pakistan is quoted in the Small Arms Survey, 2002.

In 2001, the Musharraf government launched a countrywide anti-arms drive in a bid to curb the “Kalashnikov culture” that provides easy access to illegal weapons.

The campaign led to the recovery of over 210,000 illegal arms in 18 months. This is just a small fraction of the estimated number of weapons in circulation in the country.

Despite the official ban on sale and purchase of non-licensed weapons, unauthorized arms and ammunition remain in circulation and the illegal arms trade and gunrunning continue.

In 2002, the Peshawar police reportedly seized 3,390 weapons, which included Kalashnikovs, rifles, shotguns, stenguns, pistols, cartridges, and rocket launchers.

Balochistan and North West Frontier provinces have been leading in gun ownership. The tribal town of Darra Adamkhel near Peshawar, bordering Afghanistan, is considered the biggest manufacturer and supplier of low-cost arms in the area.

Darra arms dealers and manufacturers are reputed worldwide for their fine imitations of vintage weapons including pistols and rifles. Last year, a US firm placed a Rs120 million order for 24,000 guns.

The two-century-old gun-manufacturing market in Darra Adamkhel still has around 900 small and big factories, all of them illegal, with some 150 arms and ammunition shops.