Title: Dacoits in Kacha areas have 'American weapons, Indian training': police
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Senior officials of the Punjab Police on Friday revealed that dacoits in the province's southern Kacha areas are equipped with modern “American weapons and have received training from India”.
In a meeting chaired by MNA Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, the Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges was informed about the ongoing operation in the riverine areas of Punjab. MNA Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari had raised a question of privilege against Punjab's top police officials for not handling the deteriorating law and order situation in Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts.
During the meeting, Punjab police officials revealed that over 58,000 acres of land have been successfully cleared from the clutches of dacoits since the commencement of the operation on April 9 this year. However, during the briefing, concerns were raised about the superior weaponry possessed by the criminals as compared to the Punjab police.
Read more: Sindh battles dacoits fleeing Punjab
MNA Noon asked whether the dacoits had acquired the weapons left behind by the the US military in Afghanistan, which police officials confirmed, stating that the Punjab police did not possess the same level of weaponry as the dacoits, who have access to more advanced and modern firearms.
“These dacoits target our personnel from a distance of up to two kilometres, and we remain unaware of their exact locations,” the officials revealed.
DPO Rajanpur, while addressing the committee, stated, "We don't have the same weapons as the dacoits, which is why our casualties are higher.”
He requested to be provided with the same level of advanced weaponry used by the army for at least the Kacha area. However, he added that an NOC is required to get possession of such weapons.
Chairman Noon highlighted that the arms abandoned by the Americans in Afghanistan have fallen into the hands of dacoits, the TTP, and anti-state elements. The committee directed the secretaries of the Ministries of Defence Production and Interior and the Chairman, Wah Cantt to attend the next meeting of the Committee to resolve the police department's and for manufacturing and providing Armed Personnel Carriers (APCs) for the ongoing operaton against dacoits in the kacha areas of Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
The Committee also directed the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence Production to ensure the provision of suitable weaponry to the police, and ensuring that the matter be taken on priority with a report submitted to the Committee within 15 days.
Following the deteriorating law and order issue due to criminals and outlaws in the Kacha areas, Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had also referred the matter to the Standing Committee on Interior in April this year.
Also read TTP present in Kacha areas, says Punjab IG
As a result of the ongoing operation in Punjab, the Sindh police, already conducting an operation against dacoits in the rural areas, are facing challenge of a massive influx of the militants entering the province through the border area of Kashmore.
In recent days, bandits have attacked a police mobile with a rocket launcher in the border area of Kashmore in Larkana in which two policemen were martyred. According to the recent data, the dacoits have kidnapped 30 people, including a child, in the last month.
In order to curb the menace of the outlaws, the main task of the police was the construction of a bridge connecting Ghotki and Kashmore. As the construction started in 2020, the dacoits kidnapped some engineers and extorted millions of rupees. After that, the construction work had stopped, but now it has started again and a large police post was established around it.
In April, the Inspector General (IG) of Punjab Police Usman Anwar had revealed that security forces conducting operation in the Kacha area found evidence of the presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants as well as separatist elements there.
Anwar had said that the operation in the vast Kacha areas was being carried out with the support of the country’s premiere intelligence agencies and the police forces of Sindh and Balochistan.
The Kacha (riverine) areas in southern Punjab spread over 15,000 square kilometres on both sides of the Indus River. The forces launched the operation against criminals hiding there after it became a no-go area for the law-enforcers.
Since the launch of the operation, police claim to have cleared thousands of acres of land, despite very difficult terrain, while the operation is still underway to clear the remaining land.
Published Date: 02-Jun-2023
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