KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill seeking tightened legislation on firearm sales in the province.

The “Sindh Arms Amendment Bill 2016” will be implemented with immediate effect.

The bill bounds arms dealers to get thumb impression of every buyer verified from the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) before making a deal.

No sale of firearms or ammunition could be made without having a computerised national identity card (CNIC), the bill stated.

To ensure tracking down the culprits in case of a weapon’s use in any crime, the bill makes it mandatory for the dealer to deposit two fired casings of bullets from the weapon before handing it over to the buyer. The bullet casings will be deposited to a forensics lab.

Moreover, copies of each document relevant to the sale of a weapon will be passed on to governmental authorities.

The bill was proposed by PPP senior leader Nisar Khuhro.

The Sindh chief minister was informed last month that some 540,000 firearm licences had not been verified by their holders with the relevant offices in the province.