In Karachi, every two-bit lout is harassing citizens ever since the PPP took over.THE gun culture feeds on itself. Criminal gangs vying for ascendancy need weapons with which to kill their adversaries. Ordinary citizens acquire guns, mostly on a legal basis, because they feel insecure and wish to protect themselves and their families from the armed felons who roam our streets. More and more unemployed people are becoming convinced that easy money is to be made if you have a gun and the temerity to point it at someone’s head. The Sindh home minister insisted on Friday that supply routes must be checked if the menace of illegal arms in the province is to be curbed. It’s not as simple as that. Weapons are supplied because there is a demand for them in Sindh. Otherwise it wouldn’t happen. People who kidnap others for ransom don’t carry licensed weapons. The unlicensed, illegal weapons that reach Sindh are earmarked not just for criminal gangs or terrorist organisations. Factor in, if you will, workers of political parties that are perpetually at odds with their foes. We live in a climate of fear and revenge. Guns come into that, and what the Sindh government needs to do is tackle both the suppliers and the users.
Then there is the matter of status. People of an inbred nature abound in this country, people who somehow feel gratified when their minions point their weapons at you when you pass them by in your humble vehicle of choice. Pure machismo is what it is, a semi-literate feeling of importance that is the preserve of not just the feudals but now also of those who claim to oppose that mindset. What happened to the ban on the display of weapons? In Karachi at least the situation has taken a turn for the worse since the PPP government took over. Every two-bit lout is harassing citizens now, on account of his purported connections and the flag on his car. People who look like they have been plucked from a medieval age flaunt their weapons in your face and, in clear violation of the law, don’t have a registration plate either. Such uncouth displays do not sit well with the aims and objectives of a popularly elected government. If the Sindh government is serious about cracking down on the gun culture, it needs to take into account both supply and demand. Those who fire the guns are the killers. Pick them up first.
Then there is the matter of status. People of an inbred nature abound in this country, people who somehow feel gratified when their minions point their weapons at you when you pass them by in your humble vehicle of choice. Pure machismo is what it is, a semi-literate feeling of importance that is the preserve of not just the feudals but now also of those who claim to oppose that mindset. What happened to the ban on the display of weapons? In Karachi at least the situation has taken a turn for the worse since the PPP government took over. Every two-bit lout is harassing citizens now, on account of his purported connections and the flag on his car. People who look like they have been plucked from a medieval age flaunt their weapons in your face and, in clear violation of the law, don’t have a registration plate either. Such uncouth displays do not sit well with the aims and objectives of a popularly elected government. If the Sindh government is serious about cracking down on the gun culture, it needs to take into account both supply and demand. Those who fire the guns are the killers. Pick them up first.
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