21 cops of Sindh police sacrificed lives in line of duty in 2023

To ensuring law and order, and safeguard the lives and properties of citizens, the Sindh police took various actions against robbers and other criminals in 2023.

During various operations in 2023, 21 young police officers sacrificed their lives in the line of duty, said a report on the performance of the Sindh police during the year presented to Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) Riffat Mukhtar Raja.

The report highlighted effective strategies, timely responses and proactive measures taken by the police against criminal elements.

During 3,158 police encounters across various police ranges in the province, 1,726 criminal groups were eliminated, read the report. In Karachi alone, during the actions aimed at maintaining peace and protecting lives and property, 19,803 criminals, including 278 bandits, 93 terrorists and eight target killers were apprehended. Additionally, 26,914 fugitives, including 16,135 proclaimed offenders, were arrested.

The report detailed specific achievements in different police ranges, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas Special, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, and Larkana. The document provided statistics on arrests, encounters and neutralisation of criminal elements across the province.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Police conducted operations against crimes at the provincial level, resulting in the arrests of 167 criminals in five police encounters. The suspects included 87 terrorists and seven target killers.

Two terrorists were reportedly killed during exchanges of fire with the CTD.

The report concluded with statistics on the overall success of police operations, including the arrest of criminals and terrorists, the confiscation of illegal materials, and actions against drug trafficking. It also mentioned the seizure of explosives, rockets, grenades, ammunition and firearms.

Additionally, the report covered specific operations against dacoits in rural areas, resulting in the apprehension of 364 dacoits and elimination of 52 dacoit gangs. It also highlighted anti-smuggling activities and efforts against narcotics, resulting in numerous arrests and seizure of significant quantities of drugs.