Selling and purchasing of toy guns was banned in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, to positive reception from parents in the city. The ban is aimed at stopping children from copying the violence and extremism that has been plaguing parts of the country.
The police in the city have been instructed by the district administration to strictly implement the ban, and to deal with those who do not comply with it accordingly. Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Riaz Khan Mahsud has stated that the ban covers the sale and purchase of toy guns under the Section 114 for one month, reports Dunya News. "The basic purpose behind the ban on the sale of toy guns is to discourage growing trend of arms and violence among the children," he said.
The ban is implemented for a month, mainly in observance of the Muslim festival of Eid, which begins on July18. However, Mashud states that the ban may be extended if it proved popular with the public.
Professor Zafar Iqbal, a pediatric ophthalmologist who states that he has treated dozens of children who got eye injuries because of rubber pellets, believes that the sale and purchasing of toy guns has promoted a culture of violence in the region, according to NBC News. "Unfortunately, militancy and violence have promoted the culture of arms in our society and children are now frequently playing with toy arms instead of traditional toys," he said.
Azra Nafees, a social worker, is among the people who hope that the ban will be implemented not only in the city, but also in the region. "We had been struggling for many years against sale of dangerous toy guns in the country in general, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in particular, as it is badly affected by terrorism and violence," she stated.
Hameedullah Khan, a father of three, believes that the ban must not only be country-wide, it must also be permanent. "When children use toy guns in childhood, they don't hesitate using the real arms when grow up," he said.
Toy guns blatantly sold on the market usually feature color schemes that are very close to their real counterparts, with plastic replicas of .38 pistols and AK-47 assault rifles being commonplace. In fact, earlier this year in the U.S., HNGN reported an incident when a man killed a would-be robber who was using a toy gun.
