Illegal Arms industry in Pakistan 

Owning a gun is considered a status symbol in Pakistan which has one of the highest numbers of guns owned by civilians in the world. An even bigger problem is that most of the privately held firearms are unregistered and illegal. 

According to a Small Arms Survey report Pakistan has around 43 million civilian firearms. This makes it one of the largest reservoirs of privately held firearms, only behind the United States. The Small Arms Survey by an independent research organisation in Geneva, Switzerland, focuses on small arms and light weapons, distribution, use, and impacts on global security. The comprehensive annual survey report gives an insight  global gun ownership, arms proliferation, and firearms-related violence. 

The recent report on manufacturing, ownership, and illicit arms trade reveals the following facts:

• As stated above, Pakistan has an estimated 43 million civilian firearms, or around 10 firearms per 100 people, which makes it one of the countries with the largest number of civilian-owned guns.
• A significant portion of firearms in Pakistan are illegally held.
• A large proportion of firearms in Pakistan, almost 80% of weapons in some areas are unregistered or acquired through illicit channels. This is particularly true in Baluchistan, FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas), and other conflict-prone regions, where access to weapons is often more easily obtained through informal or illegal sources.
• Despite legal provisions for firearm ownership under the Pakistan Arms Ordinance 1965, the regulatory framework is not robust enough to control illegal ownership effectively. The lack of a comprehensive and effective registration system allows many firearms to circulate without being tracked.
• Small arms in Pakistan contribute significantly to gun-related violence, including criminal activity, political violence, and militancy. Firearms are often used in targeted killings, terrorist attacks, and militancy, particularly in Karachi and the tribal regions.
• Pakistan’s role as a key actor in the Afghan conflict in the 1980s has left a legacy of small arms in the country. Militant groups, insurgents, and criminal organizations often access firearms on the illegal market, sometimes obtaining weapons that were originally supplied to the Afghan resistance or for other regional conflicts.
• Pakistan is also home to a flourishing arms manufacturing industry, including state-owned facilities like the Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) and smaller private manufacturers. The POF produces a variety of firearms, including rifles, machine guns, and pistols which are not only used by Pakistan’s military and law enforcement agencies but also feed the civilian market.
• While most of the production from Pakistan’s arms factories is for domestic use, the country exports small arms and light weapons in conflict zones in the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa.
• Pakistan is considered a hub for the smuggling of firearms due to its porous borders with Afghanistan, and Iran. The arms smuggling networks regularly supply firearms to militant groups or criminal organisations in these neighbouring states.
• Many of the weapons that circulate in Pakistan today originated from Afghanistan, particularly during the 1980s when the United States and other foreign powers supplied arms to the Afghan resistance (Mujahideen). These weapons continue to be trafficked across borders and used in conflicts in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• In the regions of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, illegal firearms smuggled into Pakistan are being used by various insurgent groups, including the Taliban and separatist movements. Smuggling routes often bypass formal border controls, especially in the rugged, remote areas that are difficult to monitor.
• The Pakistani government has made efforts to curb the growing gun violence and illegal gun ownership and announced amnesty programs, whereby citizens can voluntarily surrender illegal weapons without facing prosecution. However, these initiatives have not yielded results because of inconsistent enforcement, corruption, and the sheer number of firearms in circulation.

These findings underscore the scale of firearm ownership, the challenges in regulating weapons, and the serious issues surrounding illegal arms trafficking in Pakistan. 

According to some estimates, the state-owned Pakistani Ordnance Factories annually produce over 300,000 small arms, ammunition, and military-grade equipment. This figure does not include the firearms produced by smaller private manufacturers, which are illicitly diverted into the grey market to meet the demands of militant groups, insurgents, and criminal organisations. 

Pakistan- the hub for smuggling firearms: The Modus operandi    

The problem is compounded by the fact that Pakistan has emerged as a major transit point for smuggling small arms. As per United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates Pakistan is both a source and a transit country for illicit firearms from neighbouring conflict zones where the illegal arms trade is rampant. The porous nature of its borders with Afghanistan (2,640 km), Iran (909 km), and India (3,323 km) makes it a hotspot for smuggling large quantities of weapons, including automatic rifles, handguns, and grenades. 

The modus operandi adopted for smuggling firearms into and through Pakistan involves hiding weapons in vehicles, cargo shipments, or even on people’s bodies (concealed in bags, clothing, or backpacks). In regions like Balochistan (bordering Iran and Afghanistan) and tribal areas (e.g., Federally Administered Tribal Areas or FATA), the presence of militant groups and lack of strong state control enable the easy movement of arms. Firearms are also trafficked into Pakistan through seaports, notably the Port of Karachi, one of the largest and busiest ports in the region. Arms can be hidden in containers, often mixed with legitimate commercial goods like construction materials, textiles, or food products. Smugglers sometimes rely on small, fast boats to carry firearms into the country from neighbouring Iran and the UAE. Firearms can also be smuggled by air, often hidden in luggage or shipments in cargo planes. This method is typically used for smaller quantities of arms and is harder to detect. 

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Border as well as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and FATA are some of the heavily used transit areas for smuggling firearms because of their rugged terrain, remote locations, and poorly monitored border security. For instance, Balochistan provides a major route for smuggling arms from Iran, which then flow onward to India or other parts of the Middle East. The Khyber Pass is used for smuggling weapons from Afghanistan into Pakistan and vice versa. Karachi is one of the primary maritime entry points for smuggling firearms into Pakistan from around the world. Through the Persian Gulf weapons are shipped from Iran, the UAE, and other Gulf States and then moved inland across Pakistan. 

Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport and Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport are major destinations for the traffic in illegal firearms, hidden in shipments mislabelled or falsely declared as legitimate goods. 

Weapons collected in Pakistan are dispatched to conflict zones in the Middle East (Yemen or Syria), Central Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa where they meet the growing demand from various rebel and militant groups.

Firearms – the cause of Pakistan’s internal turmoil

According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, a significant number of deaths in Pakistan – around 2,500 per year, including homicides, suicides, and accidental shootings– are caused by firearms or firearm-related injuries. Most of these deaths are due to homicides, followed by suicides and accidents. 

The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study, an ongoing research initiative tracks mortality and disability rates globally, including the impact of different causes of death, due to violence or firearms. According to the most recent GBD reports, firearm-related deaths in Pakistan are a significant public health issue.

• Homicides: A substantial percentage of these deaths is attributed to violence, particularly related to crime, terrorism, and militant activities.
• Suicides: Firearms are also used in a significant proportion of suicides in Pakistan; all over the world, firearms are increasingly used to cause self-harm.
• Accidents: accidental shootings are common, in areas where firearm ownership is widespread and less regulated.

Firearms are commonly used in violent crimes, including robberies, kidnappings, and extortion. According to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), firearms are omnipresent in gang wars and political violence in large urban areas like Karachi. 

Guns have a significant place in Pakistan’s cultural and historical fabric. In rural areas, especially in the northwest (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan), firearms are seen as indispensable for self-defence, hunting, and as symbols of status and power. In some communities, owning a weapon is part of the traditional code of honour, deeply ingrained in the tribal culture.

The lack of an effective registry means that the exact number of legally owned firearms remains unclear, and it is often difficult to distinguish between the legal and illegal weapons in circulation. 

No wonder, Pakistan has gained the reputation of a “gun-crazy” country, as well as a hub for manufacturing, trading, and smuggling of firearms.