Licensees facing difficulties in renewing licences

Arms’ licensees are facing difficulties in renewing their licences due to apathy of both the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and Interior Ministry.
NADRA requires approval from the Interior Ministry for processing the applications, but the latter looks indecisive on how and when to start issuing the same.
As the ministry and NADRA are blaming each other for what could be described as administrative mess, the applicants are running from pillar to post to get their arms licences renewed in the face of deadlines given by the Interior Ministry.
According to details, under the new arrangement, NADRA has been assigned to renew arms’ licences. The authority requires specific approval from the ministry before processing every application, but the latter seems least interested in issuing the approval letters to the applicants. It has caused concern among the applicants as they could face cancellation of their licences.
The officials of the Interior Ministry’s Arms Section are yet to clear dust from the heavy piles of files, usually described as Pandora’s box by the officials of the ministry.
“We are waiting for the record of arms licences from NADRA so as to issue approvals for the renewal of arms licences,” officials at the Arms Section tell applicants.
Arms SO Asadullah Khan said that NADRA has so far not provided them the relevant record. He said, “We have the capacity to issue approval letters to 1000 applicants daily after getting record from NADRA.”
He also said, “It will take three to four months to clear the mess after we receive the record from NADRA.” When his attention was drawn towards the last deadline that expired on December 31, he said that nobody would cancel the arms licences for not renewing them.
Sources in NADRA told Pakistan Today that they had handed over all relevant record to the ministry four months ago and it was up to the ministry to start issuing approvals to the applicants. They blamed the Interior Ministry for creating difficulties for the licensees.
On the other hand, no one in the ministry seems ready to take the issue seriously and expedite the process. Rather both the ministry and NADRA are passing the buck.