ISLAMABAD – The federal government has cut the issuance of non-prohibited arms licences by over 90 per cent by introducing a strict criterion, the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was informed on Monday. Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry told the committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, that only 5,700 non-prohibited bore (NPB) licences were issued in the last 13 months.
In the past, more than 100,000 arms licences had been used to be issued every year, he added He said a police character certificate was now mandatory to ensure that people with a criminal record did not get licences. “The recommendation of a parliamentarian is also required, which has been restricted to five per month for each National Assembly constituency”. The minister said that prohibited bore (PB) licences were issued strictly to entitled persons, including parliamentarians, judges, army and police officers, and recipients of national awards. Senior officials said that no policy existed for issuing business-category licenses to individuals in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), prompting the interior ministry to brief the committee on incoming directions to address special cases. Deliberating on security policies, the Ministry of Interior told the meeting on tinted glass permits (TGPs), noting that permits with QR codes were currently issued for 6–12 months validity and verified on-site, with a total of 1,800 active permits issued. On visas for Afghans, Minister of State for Interior Chaudhry said no visa was issued without due diligence and that extensions were granted on a case-to-case basis. “Such visas are issued mainly on humanitarian grounds for students and those needing medical care,” he added.
The officials of the National Database and Registeration Authority (NADRA) informed the committee that Afghan visa applications were processed through 18 categories handled by the Ministry of Interior and four by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mainly for businesspeople and students, but delays occurred due to security clearances. “There should be some relaxation for businessmen and students in visa policy,”’said Senator Talha Mahmood. The minister of state underlined that that 60 per cent of those involved in terrorism incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were Afghan nationals. He added that Afghan nationals were also involved in terrorism incidents in Islamabad and in the murder of trader and car showroom owner Aamir Awan. The lawmakers were told that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) didn’t not routinely check the mobile phones or social media accounts of passengers 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.
Talal Chaudhry cited the case of a businessman who was offloaded after his name surfaced in a Rs1,200 billion inquiry. “His name was on the Passport Control List, which is why he was stopped,” he said. Senator Abid Sher Ali said an NOC (no objection certificate) from the interior ministry was sought when his family applied for a blue passport and asked about the rules and regulations to this effect. In response, Passports Director General Muhammad Ali Randhawa clarified that no such restriction existed under current law and committed to submitting a detailed report on passport categorization to the committee on priority basis.
The meeting was briefed on an intelligence-based Sindh Police operation in District Shikarpur that successfully recovered minor girl Huram Saeed Pathan, kidnapped from Karachi on March 28, 2026, and another trafficked victim, Jennifer Amir. Senator Talha Mahmood told the lawmakers that no FIA office existed in the Chitral and Malakand regions, leading the panel to direct the department to address the gap and present a report. The meeting was attended by senators Palwasha Khan, Talha Mahmood, Abid Sher Ali, Dilawar Khan, Mir Dostain Khan Domki, Jam Saifullah Khan, Shahadat Awan, Naseema Ehsan, and Quratulain Marri via Zoom.
