Have received training from India
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”.
In a meeting chaired by MNA Rana Muhammad Qasim Noon, the Standing Committee on Rules of Procedure and Privileges was informed about the ongoing operation in the riverine areas of Punjab. MNA Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari had raised a question of privilege against Punjab’s top police officials for not handling the deteriorating law and order situation in Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan districts.
During the meeting, Punjab police officials revealed that over 58,000 acres of land have been successfully cleared from the clutches of dacoits since the commencement of the operation on April 9 this year. However, during the briefing, concerns were raised about the superior weaponry possessed by the criminals as compared to the Punjab police.
MNA Noon asked whether the dacoits had acquired the weapons left behind by the the US military in Afghanistan, which police officials confirmed, stating that the Punjab police did not possess the same level of weaponry as the dacoits, who have access to more advanced and modern firearms.
“These dacoits target our personnel from a distance of up to two kilometres, and we remain unaware of their exact locations,” the officials revealed.
DPO Rajanpur, while addressing the committee, stated, “We don’t have the same weapons as the dacoits, which is why our casualties are
higher.”
He requested to be provided with the same level of advanced weaponry used by the army for at least the Kacha area. However, he added that an NOC is required to get possession of such weapons.
Chairman Noon highlighted that the arms abandoned by the Americans in Afghanistan have fallen into the hands of dacoits, the TTP, and anti-state elements. The committee directed the secretaries of the Ministries of Defence Production and Interior and the Chairman, Wah Cantt to attend the next meeting of the Committee to resolve the police department’s issues and for manufacturing and providing Armed Personnel Carriers for the ongoing operation against dacoits in the kacha areas of Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan.
The Committee also directed the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence Production to ensure the provision of suitable weaponry to the police, and ensuring that the matter be taken on priority with a report submitted to the Committee within 15 days.
