Sindh Home Department Monday issued a notification, suspending licenses of weapons in 15 districts of the province ahead of second phase of the local government elections.
The ban has been imposed under section 144 from November 19 to 28. However, the move will not affect security forces, police, Rangers and security guards of private companies. The Home Department has also suspended permits to carry weapons.
The restrictions came after more than 10 people were killed when rival political parties opened firing on each other in the first phase of local government elections on October 31.
The political parties have geared up their preparations for second phase of LB polls in 12 districts of Punjab and 15 districts of Sindh on November 19.
In Punjab, polling will be held in Attock, Chiniot, Gujranwala, Hafizabad, Jhelum, Khanewal, Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali, sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Toba Tek Sindh.
In Sindh, polling in second phase of the LB polls will be held in Badin, Dadu, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Matiari, Mirpur Khas, Naushahro Feroze, Sajawal, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Tando Allahyar, Tando Muhammad Khan, Tharparkar, Thatta and Umerkot.
As many as 14,685,822 voters have been registered in Punjab while about 22,691,022 voters would exercise voting right in Sindh.
Local bodies, in which voters elect councillors directly, devolve administrative and financial powers to lower tiers of electoral bodies. The elections were last held in 2005 under General Pervez Musharraf.
In March, the Supreme Court called the absence of the local government system for over a decade unconstitutional and ordered the Election Commission to make arrangements for polls to be held as soon as possible.
