Neither lead nor steel is regulated and is in abundant supply. The large gun manufacturing sector in Peshawar could not compete with Darra on the grounds of cost all through the 1960s.īut for the gunsmiths of Darra Adamkhel today, the situation greatly differs. Gunsmiths in Darra Adamkhel are without a regular supply of electricity - AFP Under the British Raj, no railway track was safe because lead, a highly sought after commodity, was exceedingly regulated. Tribesmen of Darra Adamkhel have always needed high-quality steel to make barrels and bullets for their rifles in the absence of regular supply.
Tt pistol all made price in pakistan manual#
In spite of advancements in machinery in recent years, gunsmiths in Darra produce guns the old manual way a time consuming and demanding feat. Though the guns produced are considered sub-standard by many, they are still bought by people in Punjab for self defense and for the use of security guards because the Chinese and Russian rifles cost a minimum of Rs 200,000 a piece. Today, an AK47 replica is widely produced and available for only Rs 12,000 per piece. The incident was reported to have allegedly given Al-Qaeda an 'upper hand', but the ground reality remained vastly different. The most popular products in the market are 9 mm pistols and semi-automatic shotguns made locally on the pattern of an AK-47.īut the locally produced guns did not match the quality, finesse and availability of Russian and Chinese guns inundated in the market those days they were of low quality and the rifles were too heavy to run smoothly. Bin Laden aimed at being "self-sufficient" in weapon manufacturing and saw cost-cutting and wholesale manufacturing as an opportunity. According to sources, he had found a skilled and experienced gunsmith to produce local replicas of AK47 guns for him. These have been replaced with locally produced copies,” he said, adding that their biggest products were 9 mm pistols and semi-automatic shotguns made locally on the pattern of an AK-47.Įxplore: Guns cheaper than smartphones in Darra Adamkhelĭuring the Afghan war in the 1980s, Osama Bin Laden was known to frequent Darra Adamkhel's bustling arms market. “There are very few Russian, Chinese or US military rifles and handguns on the market. The firearms produced locally are of sub-par quality, but popular nonetheless.
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Shahnawaz says shops in Darra Adamkhel were once full of Afghan jihad era AK-47s and other military equipment. Local arms dealers make a lot more money while migrant gunsmiths are at the receiving end of the bargain.Ĩ0 to 90% of locally produced guns are shipped to Punjab and Sindh. And while the shipment of guns from Darra is illegal, their sale in other provinces is considered legal and accepted. “He only makes a fixed amount at the end of the month most of the time,” Khan added.Ībout 90% of locally produced guns are shipped to Punjab and Sindh. But a gunsmith can only produce a TT pistol in two days and a 9 mm pistol in one week with working all day long.” Iran Khan, a gunsmith, says,“Business is profitable for a shop keeper who takes large orders from dealers in Punjab and then buys our pistols and guns in bulk. "That is why most of the locals are shop keepers while 90 percent gunsmiths are outsiders." “Being a gunsmith is not a profitable job," Shahnawaz tells. Yet the majority of arms dealers and weapon merchants in Darra are local Afridi tribesmen. Most gunsmiths are of Punjabi or Sindhi origin, and have been engaged in the trade for many years. There are currently around 8000 gunsmiths working in Darra Adamkhel today, in addition to hundreds of little workshops and small-scale factories engaged in arms manufacturing.Īstonishingly, most gun smiths are what the locals call ‘Hindustani’ a term long used to refer to those who live beyond the edges of Attock, and are thus non-native to the Pakhtun region. The finished goods, sold in the Darra bazaar, fetch a handsome price.īut in the absence of better job opportunities and despite disruption of trade due to several military operations in the region, the single biggest source of employment in Darra for the past century is deeply affected by a heavy cost of production and lacks any form of government support. Gunsmiths in the local firearms industry are known to make a replica of any weapon within a few working days, with a one-year warranty included. Within the compound of his house, he employs an impressive workforce of craftsmen and gunsmiths who use traditional techniques, passed down from father to son, to manufacture gun knock-offs and produce cartridges with little or no fancy equipment.