GDA demands effective military operation against riverine bandits

Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) Information Secretary Sardar Abdul Rahim on Tuesday demanded a military operation against the riverine bandits in Sindh.

Rahim, who is also the Pakistan Muslim League-Functional general secretary, condemned the killing of a teacher in Kashmore, and the viral video of hostages being shot dead by dacoits in public.

The GDA leader said that an effective military operation should be carried out in the affected areas until the complete elimination of the dacoits and their patrons. He added that this is the only way to restore peace and order in the province, and to allow the people to observe Ramazan in peace.

He remarked that the ruling parties have left the people of the province at the mercy of dacoits. He said that there is a reign of dacoits in Karachi, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Larkana, Jacobabad, Khairpur and other districts. Dacoits have kidnapped dozens of people, he added, and called for their immediate recovery.

He also said the Sindh police have been completely politicised, and rendered ineffective by being assigned protocol duties. He added that it is impossible for the police to fight dacoits, and that the people of the province have become completely insecure.

Rahim said that the law and order situation in the province is very bad, and that people are being kidnapped in broad daylight. He said dacoits are abducting people with complete impunity, and are making videos of them being shot dead. He called the killing of a teacher in public condemnable, and demanded that the killers be arrested immediately.

Daku Raj

Speaking to the media in Karampur, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan chief Sirajul Haq said Daku Raj (bandits’ rule) has been imposed in the province under which the public’s lives, properties and dignity are unsafe.

Haq said that the riverine area of the province is being used to keep people abducted from different parts of the country, claiming that some feudal lords who patronise bandits are acting as middlemen to extort money from the families of the captives.

He said kidnapping for ransom has become a business in the riverine region, demanding that the president, the prime minister and the army chief take decisive action against bandits. “This is not an area belonging to India. Despite the government and the army having modern weaponry, they have been unable to act against bandits. Thus, the area appears to be a state within the state.”

He pointed out that conquering Islamabad is no big achievement, stressing that the real achievement is to provide security to the public. He said that irrespective of how the current ruling political parties came into power through the “controversial” general elections, they must realise their responsibilities towards the public, and provide them with safety.

The JI leader said that the role of the police of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab has been reduced to mere spectators, as they are unable to recover the captives being held on islands in the riverine belt.

And on the other hand, he pointed out, bandits have been releasing video clips on social media platforms in which they can be seen torturing their captives.

He claimed that the police, the local administration and the feudal lords have been colluding with bandits, and in return they receive their share in the ransom collected and the money looted. Haq earlier led the funeral prayer for JI Sindh deputy general secretary Abdul Hafiz Bajrani, who had died in a road accident. Other JI leaders, including Asadullah Bhutto, Dr Mairajul Huda Siddiqui, Kashif Saeed Sheikh, Mumtaz Hussain Shah and Prof Nazimuddin Memon, were also present on the occasion.