Sindh set to launch massive operation against Karachi street criminals

KARACHI - The Caretaker Sindh Government has decided to launch massive operation against dacoits in Sindh’s Katcha area with the help of Pakistan Army, Police and the Rangers to eliminate menace of kidnapping of the innocent people.
 
The decision was made in a cabinet meeting held here at Chief Minister House on Thursday with Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (R) Maqbool Baqar in the chair.

Minister Home Brig (retd) Hariz Nawaz and IG Police Riffat Mukhtar briefed the cabinet on overall law & order, including kidnapping for ransom in the katcha area, street crime and drug mafia.

Sharing the data of 2023, the CM was told that 218 people were kidnapped, of them, 207 have been recovered and 11 were still in the clutches of the kidnappers.
 
To a question, the CM was told that when the incumbent IG police took over there were 57 kidnappings, out of them he got 46 recovered and efforts were underway to recover the remaining 11 persons.
 
The CM directed the IG Police to recover the outstanding 11 kidnappers and report them. He also urged him to direct the local police to keep in touch with the families of the hostages and keep them informed about the police efforts.
 
The cabinet was told that the dacoits in the Katcha area of four districts, Kashmore, Shikarpur, Ghotki, and Sukkur were holed up in inaccessible hideouts fortified by trenches and ditches.
 
The dacoits have long-range military-grade weapons effective against APCs. In the monsoon and kharif season flow of Indus water in low flow and medium floods. The Katcha 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 police told 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 decided to launch a joint operation with police, Rangers, and Pak Army to clear dacoits’ hideouts. A crackdown would also be started against organized weapons smuggling gangs involved in supplying weapons to the dacoits. The areas where dacoits operate would be denied cyber and digital space to disconnect their communication.