Ban on the issuance of Transport Letter (TL) and other issues has brought small arms manufacturing units in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on verge of closure and livelihood of thousands of skilled work force of the sector.
KPK has 66 small arms manufacturing units source of livelihood for thousands of families associated directly or indirectly with the sector. Due to the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azab, the provincial governments had banned the issuance of TL for transportation of small arms manufactured in these units to other parts of the country while the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has also failed in searching markets for their products.
Sources in the sector are saying that their products are required efforts of the ministry to tap markets at USA, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and South Africa.
On the contact of this scribe, Mohammad Inam of the Mughal Engineering agreed with these issues faced by the arms manufacturing units of the province. He said that as due to ban on the transportation of arms due to peculiar situation, the govt instead of buy arms from other countries should purchase locally manufactured arms for the security agencies.
The decision, he said will not only help to promote the local arms manufacturing units but a huge foreign exchange will also be saved. He said that though ban on the import of arms is appreciative. But, he was of the opinion that non-promotion of domestic market is strengthening illegal business of arms. Therefore, he said that the govt should withdraw ban on the sale of locally manufactured arms with immediate effect.