Kacha operation yields little

Official blames terrain, primitive means of asserting land holding

DG KHAN/ LAHORE:

Complaints of activities of criminal gangs, including demands for ransom, in the riverine area along the Indus river in South Punjab have resumed despite a security operation launched over three and a half months ago with an expenditure of over Rs1 billion.

The Punjab and Sindh police had launched the operation on April 9 after a decision in this regard by the  National Security Committee. The Punjab government had allocated over Rs1 billion and Sindh Rs2 billion for the purpose.

However, a number of incidents reported in recent days indicate that the operation has failed to produce the desired results like the actions launched over 20 times between 1996 and 2016 to permanently establish the writ of the state and curb lawlessness in the area.

When asked about the wastage of the ‘achievements’ of the operation following the increase in the water level in the river and reports of ousted criminals returning to the area, Punjab DIG Operations Waqas Nazir termed the terrain the 'real enemy' in the kacha area.

Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that the agricultural land falling in the kacha area in Punjab covered an area equal to the Hafizabad district.

As demarcation of the land had not been done as per the revenue record, the ownership in the area was frequently asserted by the use of force, he said.

The official said people were murdered for small pieces of land in central Punjab, while the riverine area was spread over thousands of acres of agricultural land.

He said variation in the landscape with the expansion and recession of the river flow during different seasons resulted in disputes over land holdings, which lead to violence and lawlessness.

South Punjab AIG police Maqsoodul Hassan interacts with the officers conducting the operation in the riverine areas (bottom) while a policeman glances across the area from an APC (top left). Meanwhile, DG Khan RPO Captain (retd) Sajjad Hassan points something out to the man who stands near a heavy machine gun. PHOTOS: EXPRESS

He said there had been complaints of police officials being involved in corruption while intervening in such disputes.

He said law and order in the area would be linked to addressing the broader problems.

He said the crime rate was also high in some urban areas and the number of cases of abduction in the kacha area was not more than a corresponding stretch of land in other parts of the province.

However, a no-go area could not be acceptable, he asserted, adding that major crimes could be planned at hideouts, which was worrisome for the authorities.

The DIG said any state that tolerated any no-go area eventually paid a heavy price for this.

Punjab Police IG Usman Anwar recently vowed to continue the operation after the flood season.

He said the Punjab government had decided to build roads, bridges and other infrastructure in the area.

However, a PTI leader from the area, Sardar Shamsher Khan Mazari said, "There is a surge in cases of abduction for ransom and extortion, while the police are reluctant to take action against the dacoits because even the police stations are not safe from their attacks.”

He said the ring leaders of the gangs had fled to the mountainous areas of Sindh and Balochistan. They were now reoccupying their positions because the police could not take action amid a rise the water level in River Indus.

IG Anwar had claimed in a statement that the police had retrieved 60,000 acres of land from the control of hardened criminals.

He said 51 criminals had been arrested and 26 had surrendered, while 50 abducted persons had been freed from their captivity.

He said the police had thwarted 104 attempts to honey trap people for ransom during the operation.

One police official had been martyred and seven injured during the operation, he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2023.