IN a shocking revelation, senior officials of the Punjab Police on Friday revealed that dacoits in the province’s southern Kacha areas are equipped with modern “American weapons and have received training from India”. During a meeting with the Chairman National Assembly Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges Rana Qasim Noon, these officials said so far over 58,000 acres of land have been successfully cleared from the clutches of dacoits since the commencement of the operation on 9 April this year but concerns were expressed over possession of superior weaponry by criminals as compared to the Punjab police.
The briefing should serve as an eye-opener for policy and decision-makers as it shows how organized are the gangs of dacoits and pathetic level of preparedness of our police despite claims by successive governments about modernization of law-enforcing agencies. How is it possible that even after 76 years of independence we are unable to ensure rule of law even in otherwise somewhat more developed provinces of Punjab and Sindh as dacoits are still ruling many areas presenting serious threats to life and property of the citizens. It is also a matter of serious concern that the weapons left over by Americans in Afghanistan have easily found their way to criminals and terrorist outfits like TTP in the presence of different layers of security all over the country starting right from the international borders. The revelation that dacoits were trained in India gives yet another twist to crude interference of the neighbouring country in internal affairs of Pakistan and a consistent policy pursued by New Delhi to weaken Pakistan through different tactics including terrorism, fanning sectarianism, conspiring against development projects (including CPEC) and harbouring criminals. The type and intensity of the threat posed by bandits can be gauged by the fact that they are now in a position to target police with rocket launchers, possess anti-aircraft guns, can target police personnel from a distance of two kilometres and have enough strength and courage to forcibly stop projects like construction of bridges for years. In this backdrop, we hope the ongoing operation, with the help of Pakistan Army, would be taken to its logical conclusion, comprehensive measures would be taken to prevent dacoits from regaining strength and more importantly police should be equipped with military-grade weapons and communication equipment.
