ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Friday decided to launch a coordinated operation against criminal gangs that have operated for decades in the riverine border areas of Punjab and Sindh provinces, following a rocket launcher attack by them on a police vehicle a day earlier that killed 12 law enforcement personnel.
The criminal gangs have benefited from the rugged terrain and dense forests of the region, known as the Kacha area, turning it into their stronghold and using it for armed robberies, extortion and kidnapping for ransom.
Over the years, the region has seen numerous law enforcement operations aimed at curbing the activities of these groups, but the challenging terrain has made these efforts difficult.
The criminal gangs are also known to be well-armed and sometimes have local support, further complicating efforts to fully eradicate them.
“A very tragic incident occurred, and our 12 brave policemen embraced martyrdom,” Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi said during a high-level meeting at the Rahim Yar Khan Airport where he was briefed about the incident.
“We will deal with the miscreants with an iron hand and go to the last extent to avenge the attackers,” he continued. “We will not rest until we avenge the blood of our brave sons.”
According to a statement circulated by the interior ministry, Naqvi ordered an “effective and coordinated operation” against the criminal gangs while interacting with Rangers and senior police officials.
He emphasized the need for safety measures concerning the operational forces in the region.
He also directed that the forces participating in the operation be equipped with modern weapons and safety gear.
The attack on the police vehicle took place while they were traveling through Rahim Yar Khan district in Punjab and their van broke down due to low-level flooding.
A police statement on Friday morning said the main culprit behind the deadly attack was killed in an overnight operation.
Government plans ‘coordinated operation’ against criminals in central Pakistan after 12 policemen killed
https://arab.news/9qg2a
Government plans ‘coordinated operation’ against criminals in central Pakistan after 12 policemen killed
- Criminal gangs based in Punjab’s riverine areas fired a rocket launcher at a police van which had broken down
- Pakistan’s interior minister says the government ‘will not rest until we avenge the blood of our brave sons’
Tens of thousands flee northwest Pakistan over fears of military operation
- More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled remote Tirah region bordering Afghanistan
- Government says no military operation underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
BARA, Pakistan: More than 70,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled a remote region in northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan over uncertainty of a military operation against the Pakistani Taliban, residents and officials said Tuesday.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has denied the claim by residents and provincial authorities. He said no military operation was underway or planned in Tirah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Speaking at a news conference in Islamabad, he said harsh weather, rather than military action, was driving the migration. His comments came weeks after residents started fleeing Tirah over fears of a possible army operation.
The exodus began a month after mosque loudspeakers urged residents to leave Tirah by Jan. 23 to avoid potential fighting. Last August, Pakistan launched a military operation against Pakistani Taliban in the Bajau r district in the northwest, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Shafi Jan, a spokesman for the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, posted on X that he held the federal government responsible for the ordeal of the displaced people, saying authorities in Islamabad were retracting their earlier position about the military operation.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi, whose party is led by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, has criticized the military and said his government will not allow troops to launch a full-scale operation in Tirah.
The military says it will continue intelligence-based operations against Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP. Though a separate group, it has been emboldened since the Afghan
Taliban returned to power in 2021. Authorities say many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan and that hundreds of them have crossed into Tirah, often using residents as human shields when militant hideouts are raided.
Caught in the middle are the residents of Tirah, who continued arriving in Bara.
So far, local authorities have registered roughly 10,000 families — about 70,000 people — from Tirah, which has a population of around 150,000, said Talha Rafiq Alam, a local government administrator overseeing the relief effort. He said the registration deadline, originally set for Jan. 23, has been extended to Feb. 5.
He said the displaced would be able to return once the law-and-order situation improves.
Among those arriving in Bara and nearby towns was 35-year-old Zar Badshah, who said he left with his wife and four children after the authorities ordered an evacuation. He said mortar shells had exploded in villages in recent weeks, killing a woman and wounding four children in his village. “Community elders told us to leave. They instructed us to evacuate to safer places,” he said.
At a government school in Bara, hundreds of displaced lined up outside registration centers, waiting to be enrolled to receive government assistance. Many complained the process was slow.
Narendra Singh, 27, said members of the minority Sikh community also fled Tirah after food shortages worsened, exacerbated by heavy snowfall and uncertain security.
“There was a severe shortage of food items in Tirah, and that forced us to leave,” he said.
Tirah gained national attention in September, after an explosion at a compound allegedly used to store bomb-making materials killed at least 24 people. Authorities said most of the dead were militants linked to the TTP, though local leaders disputed that account, saying civilians, including women and children, were among the dead.
