Claim: The newly elected Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has suspended the 800,000 arms licenses issued throughout the province.
Fact: Maryam Nawaz has not suspended 800,000 arms licences in Punjab, according to the Chief Minister’s spokesperson.
On 27 February 2024, several social media users, as well as news channels, such as ARY News and Express News claimed that Maryam Nawaz, who was recently appointed as the first female Chief Minister of Punjab following the 2024 provincial elections, had suspended the 800,000 arms licences issued throughout the province.
Fact or Fiction?
The claim is false. The Government of Punjab has not issued any notification and has not announced any decision to suspend arms licences in the province. In fact, they denied the claim.
When Soch Fact Check searched the web and recent news coverage for an official confirmation of such a policy or decision by the Punjab Government, we found no results. The only sources that reported the claim were social media users and some news channels, which did not provide any evidence or verification for their claims.
ARY News published this article on 27 February 2024, attributing the information to unnamed sources. The article claims that Maryam Nawaz Sharif has suspended 8 lac arms licences and that in future if anyone requires an arms licence in Punjab, they will have to get special permission from the courts. However, other mainstream news organisations did not report the claim. In fact, on the same day, AAJ News published an article saying that the spokesperson from the Chief Minister’s office has denied this claim.
The Government of Punjab also denied the claim officially on 27 February 2024, while quoting the Chief Minister’s spokesperson in the following statement on X, “Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif did not suspend arms licences in Punjab”.
Virality
The claim shared on X here, here, here, here, here, and here received more than 129,173 views and more than 3000 interactions.
Some news channels, such as ARY News and Express News, also aired the claim without verifying its authenticity.
We also found this claim shared multiple times on Facebook, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The Chief Minister’s spokesperson has refuted the claim that Maryam Nawaz has suspended the 800,000 arms licences in Punjab.
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Background image in cover photo: Arab News Pakistan
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