As Pakistan erupted in ecstasy over a breathtaking cricket win against India this summer, five-year-old Noeen lay dying in the country’s northwest, the tiny victim of an often deadly tradition: celebratory gunfire.
Unloading a few rounds into the air is a well-established custom to celebrate weddings, religious ceremonies and sporting victories in Pakistan, where firearms stuff black markets along the Afghan border and gun crime is rife in its major cities.
In Nowshera, in rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Laeeq Shah was with his son as the festivities kicked off in the park when a stray bullet struck the five-year-old in the head.
“One can ruin the house of another unknowingly,” Shah said.
In the tribal northwest, Pakistan’s obsession with guns is particularly visible, with firearms cheaper than smartphones and most men traveling armed. Weapons are so ubiquitous they are almost seen as jewelery.
Pakistan’s deeply rooted gun culture was exacerbated further in the 1980s after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, when the US and Saudi Arabia began funneling weapons to Mujahideen fighters battling communist forces across the border.
The deluge of arms into the region gave rise to what was later labeled “Kalashnikov culture,” with automatic weapons readily available in gun bazaars across the country.
Kalashnikovs and military-grade weapons soon replaced the bolt-action and flintlock rifles of old at social functions, with revelers spraying bursts of automatic fire into the air to celebrate weddings and sporting victories.
However, the time-honored tradition has come at a fatal price.
While there is no official number for the deaths caused by stray bullets, authorities say that hundreds have been killed over the years.
After his son’s death, Shah decided to act. In the deeply religious area, he canvassed mosques and called on religious leaders to instruct their communities at Friday prayers to abandon the tradition.
“In the past, people used to celebrate with aerial firing because we had open fields,” Shah said. “Now every bullet fired in the air will hit someone and no one is certain it will land in an open place.”
Local authorities have also taken up the mantle, with police in Nowshera and other districts distributing pamphlets and posters along with pushing community engagement initiatives to combat the scourge.
Peshawar Police Chief Tahir Khan called on would-be revelers to consider donating the money they would spend on ammunition to charity.
A license is required to possess a gun, while special permits are needed to carry large-caliber weapons and automatic rifles.
However the status quo could yet change, with newly elected Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Abbasi vowing to crack down on the possession of automatic weapons.
People caught firing guns into the air are fined up to 1,000 rupees (US$15.59) for the offense, Peshawar’s Nothia Qadeem neighborhood Mayor Safdar Khan Baghi said — but the rule remains loosely enforced.
In a bid to combat the spread of the nation’s gun culture, provincial authorities have passed a raft of measures over the years banning the sale of toys resembling weapons to children.
However, a visit to Peshawar found the city’s largest bazaar full of toy replicas resembling pistols and Kalashnikovs.
“The government has banned the selling of toy guns, they say it distorts the minds of kids, so better to give them pens or any other toys,” shopkeeper Sharif Khan said. “But the kids have no other alternative, nothing else is available to play with.”
In the Shah household, the damage has been done.
“Why do people celebrate with aerial firing?” Noeen’s sister Warisha said. “If you are happy then just say thanks to Allah.”
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