ISLAMABAD: At least 11 cops were killed and several were injured in Pakistan’s eastern Rahim Yar Khan district on Thursday after bandits targeted police in a rocket attack, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said.
The Kacha (riverine) area, spread over 15,000 square kilometers on both sides of the Indus river, is notorious for heavily armed bandits who seek shelter from police and law enforcement authorities for their criminal activities. Numerous police operations to eliminate these bandits have taken place in the Kacha areas of Sindh and southern Punjab in the past.
The attack took place on Thursday when one of two police vehicles broke down in a Kacha area in Rahim Yar Khan district, a Punjab Police spokesperson said in a statement.
“11 police jawans embraced shahadat [martyrdom] in a rocket launcher attack by Kacha gangs in Machka,” Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz wrote on social media platform X.
“It is indeed very sad but this will not go unavenged. My team under the supervision of Home Secretary, IG and CTD has been dispatched with clear directions to sort them out decisively.”
Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack, directing authorities to punish those involved in it.
“The president emphasized the need for strict action against criminals in the Kacha area and warned that attacks on personnel of police and law enforcement agencies would not be tolerated,” the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) said in a report.
Meanwhile, Inspector General Punjab Dr. Usman Anwar, Additional IG Special Branch, Additional IG CTD, and senior officers have departed for Rahim Yar Khan, the state-run media said.
