Operation against dacoits likely

Cabinet decides to seek Army, Rangers support to eliminate outlaws from kutcha areas

KARACHI:

In a daring move the provincial caretaker cabinet on Thursday decided to launch a joint operation with the support of Army and Rangers to eliminate hideouts of dacoits in the riverine forests along the Indus River on Sindh-Punjab border.

The decision follows rising public criticism against frequent incidents of kidnapping for ransom and abduction of people of minorities by dacoits hiding in the kutcha area.

The interim cabinet meeting also discussed at length how to thwart trafficking of illegal arms making their way to criminals in Sindh and to enhance intelligence network to keep tab on the movement of the outlaws on the Sindh-Punjab border.

The meeting, held with Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (R) Maqbool Baqar in the chair, decided to block the social media platforms in kutcha areas denying cyber and digital space to criminals and dacoits who snub the authority of the state through Facebook and other social media websites.

The cabinet meeting attended by ministers, government and intelligence officials also decided to curb street crime in the city by launching operations against street criminals and the drug mafia.

During the meeting, Home Minister Brig (R) Hariz Nawaz and IGP Police Riffat Mukhtar briefed the participants on the overall law & order, including kidnapping for ransom in the kutcha area, street crimes, and drug mafia.

The meeting was informed that 218 people were kidnapped, of them, 207 have been recovered and 11 were still in dacoits' captivity.

There were reportedly 57 cases of kidnapping when the IG took over the charge of the office. Out of them, 46 have been recovered and efforts are underway to recover the remaining 11 abductees.

The CM directed the IG to recover the get the remaining 11 abductees free and submit a report. He also urged him to direct the local police to keep in touch with the families of the kidnapped persons and keep them informed about the police efforts and progress.

The cabinet was informed that the dacoits in the kutcha area of Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur districts have made their inaccessible hideouts in the riverine forests fortified by trenches and ditches.

The dacoits have long-range military-grade weapons effective against APCs.

The kutcha area has 238 villages with a population of 400,000. The Sindh police have set up eight police stations and 20 check posts.

The IG informed the cabinet that they have a plan to establish 390 police posts in the four districts along the protective bund. The police would be equipped with the latest weapons and gadgets.

The cabinet would also launch an organised drive against smuggling of weapons and supply them to the outlaws. The areas where dacoits operate would be denied cyber and digital access to disconnect their communication.

Chief Secretary Dr. Fakhre Alam said that necessary coordination with the concerned agencies would be made to start the operation against the dacoits.

Street Crimes

The cabinet was told that 12,886 cases of street crime have been registered during the current year so far. The registered cases include 3,178 mobile snatchings, 93 four-wheeler snatchings, 758 four-wheeler theft, 2,143 two-wheeler snatchings, and 3,457 two-wheeler theft.

Narcotics control

The cabinet was informed that the narcotics were smuggled to Sindh from other areas of the country. The slum areas of Lyari and Sohrab Goth are the main hubs of narcotics in the city. The nuisance of narcotics has penetrated educational institutions.

The CM was informed that four narcotics rehabilitation welfare centres were functioning with the support of police in Karachi where 360 addicts were being rehabilitated. The IG said that 2,925 drug addicts have been rehabilitated.

Deployment of Rangers

The cabinet approved ratification of the extension of deployment of Pakistan Rangers in Karachi Division and made effective from September 14 to December 12, 2023, under Anti-Terrorism Act-1997. Meanwhile, the cabinet approved the deployment of the Rangers for six months for which a letter would be sent to the federal government.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2023.