Pakistan: Dacoits attack police check-post, kidnap two policemen

Dacoits ambushed a police checkpoint and abducted two police officers in the Katcha region of Durrani Mehr, near Sindh’s Kandhkot tehsil, according to Pakistan-based ARY News. According to reports, the two officers, Sajjad Jakhrani and Ghaffar, were kidnapped on Saturday when dacoits raided a police checkpoint in Durrani Mehr’s Katcha region.

While releasing a video showing the two men in their possession, the dacoits sought the release of a 13-year-old suspect, Wajid, who had already been apprehended by police. Earlier in March, the Sindh Cabinet authorised funding for military-grade firearms to be used in an anti-bandit campaign in the Katcha region.

In a briefing to the cabinet chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the Secretary Home Department and the Inspector General of Police Sindh stated that the police will need military-grade weapons to launch an effective operation against bandits in the Katcha area (riverine forest along the Indus River), according to ARY News.

The cabinet session was informed that the apex committee’s January 5 session had recommended the acquisition of military-grade weaponry, which would cost 2.7 billion rupees. The provincial government authorised the funding and the purchase of the necessary weapons. After cabinet agreement, the Sindh government will receive a NOC from the interior ministry.

According to ARY News, the Sindh cabinet has agreed to execute a combined operation against dacoits in the Katcha area, in which the police departments of Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan would take part. “It will be a coordinated and organised effort,” stressed Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah.

Sindh police requested 2.79 billion Pakistani rupees (PKR) in January for the procurement of military-grade sophisticated and heavy weaponry. According to a police official, two police officers were murdered and two others were injured in a remote-controlled bomb in Balochistan’s Khuzdar district recently.

Khuzdar Station House Officer (SHO) Muhammad Jan Sasoli told Dawn that a “remote-controlled explosive” targeted Khuzdar Superintendent of Police (SP) Fahad Khan Khoso’s security unit near the Jhalawan Complex.

According to Sasoli, one police officer died on the scene, while another died from his injuries at the District Headquarters Hospital in Khuzdar, where the injured were sent for treatment. According to SHO Sasoli: “SP Khuzdar’s squad was patrolling in the area when the blast occurred.” He added that additional police contingents reached the blast site and cordoned off the area.