Possession of illegal weapons :

Non-bailable offence

The Government intends to amend the existing laws to make the possession of illegal firearms and explosives a non- bailable offence.

This is aimed at disarming of persons carrying illegal arms.

The Government intends to bring amendments to the Fire Arms Ordinance enabling the restriction to grant bail for those who are apprehended whilst in possession of fire arms or explosives. But this special provision is intended to be in operation for a limited period, until the objective of ensuring the surrender of weapons is achieved.

Soon after the liberation of the East from the clutches of the terrorists the government gave a deadline to surrender illegal weapons and it was a success.

The Police have been given strict instructions to deal with any offenders by utilizing the criminal law.