A parliamentary panel Thursday recommended the government to set a condition on exporters of small arms to obtain no-objection certificate (NOC) from Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF). Chairman Board of POF, Wah Cantt, Lt General Sadiq Ali briefed the visiting Senate Standing Committee on Defence Productions about functioning and working of the POF. Senator Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum (retd) chaired the meeting of the committee.
The committee recommended that the government should allocate special funds for up-gradation of the POF technologies to further match the international quality. The committee expressed its admiration that the factories are meeting the defence needs of armed forces of the country.
The POF-made ammunitions were used in the 1965 and 1971 wars, the Kargil standoff and 16-year-long operations against militancy as well as the war against terror.
Earlier, the POF Board chairman informed the committee that the first POF factory was established in 1951. An independent board was set up in 1958. He further said, "Currently, 24,000 skilled employees are working in 14 factories and 12 subsidiaries under the POF Wah." These factories are supplying small weapons to the armed forces and private organisations.
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