His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday stressed the need to end festive firing as a means of celebrating major events such as weddings and passing Tawjihi scores.
King Abdullah's instructions came after two citizens were killed and 13 others injured in festive firing incidents following the summer announcement of Tawjihi scores last week.
During a meeting held at the Royal Offices in Hummar in Amman with Prime Minister Samir Rifai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Nayef Qadi, Minister of Justic Hisham Tal, Director of the General Intelligence Department Lieutenant General Mohammad Raqqad and Public Security Department Director Major General Hussein Majali, the King called for immediate legislative measures to curb the practice, which violates the law and threatens citizens' lives.
During the meeting, the King stressed the importance of awareness campaigns on the dangers of festive firing to encourage people to abandon the practice. emphasising the importance of the rule of law.
Also during the meeting, which was attended by Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi and King's Adviser Ayman Safadi, King Abdullah discussed ways to enhance the measures that have been taken to crack down on festive firing to protect citizens and their rights.
A total of 106 festive firing cases have been recorded during the past four years, resulting in the deaths of five persons and the injury of 57 others. In addition, there have been 16 cases related to fireworks since 2006, in which 23 were injured.