The 15 km Katcha area includes Rajanpur, Ghotki, Kandkot, Rohjan, Kashmore, Sadiqabad and Rahimyar Khan. These areas are in the grip of Sindhi Dacoits, and have become their strong holds. The police have failed to end the Daku Raj despite launching several operations, spending crores of state money and sacrificing hundreds of lives.
The big question is, as to why their operations launched with a lot of fanfare fail? How do the weapons in large quantities reach an island shaped Katcha area? How can peace be restored in these troublesome areas.
It has been suggested that an army operation should be launched to flush out all the dacoits, and to construct a military cantonment on the lines of Panu Aqil, and Cadet Colleges opened to divert the youth and the unemployed towards constructive channels.
These suggestions merit attention and implementation, but we must also trace the history of the Daku Raj, how it emerged and progressed.
The Dacoits in interior Sindh became strong in two areas of interior Sindh in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Those areas were, Katcha near Larkana this side of the River Indus and along the main highway, thickly forested with safe escape routes across the river to India. The other area was Kacho near Hyderabad infested with Dacoits.
The two areas were no-go areas like the Ilaqa Ghair (former FATA), where no police or any law enforcement agency or govt official could enter.
The Dacoits were and still are patronised by the Sindhi waders and handled by Patharidars who share the looted booty. In the Sindhi culture, the Dakus are hailed as heroes and their exploits narrated in poetry.
The Katcha area has tens of thousands of acres of rich fertile agricultural land, illegally possessed by the big waderas, (Jatois, Bogios etc). These dacoits till the lands with least manual labor due to plentiful flood water and overflowing water from the river. It was also a pleasure den for the waderas where guest houses and free electric supply were available. The errands of the Dacoits are looting the road passengers, kidnapping for ransom, or for political reasons. In that timeframe, the Sindhi Dacoits in rural Sindh were used by PPP as a counterweight to the MQM militancy in urban Sindh.
The first operation was launched against them in May 1992. The area was taken over and the writ of the govt was re-established. The Army achieved an early breakthrough because of a split between the Dacoits and the Patharidars over the sharing of booty. The latter feeling threatened, disclosed the names of the notorious offenders to the army.
However, soon after the end of the operation in Dec 1992, Daku Raj reappeared and kept expanding and became lethal. Their sway was extended to South Punjab where Punjabi Dakus ruled the roost.
During the 20-year war on terror with focus on former FATA, KP and Baluchistan, once the safe havens of the TTP were busted and the majority fled to Afghanistan, a segment homed on to Karachi and Baluchistan.
During their transition, the TTP terrorists developed a nexus with the Dacoits in Punjab and in Sindh. Punjabi Taliban, created in 2007, could have facilitated their alignment.
The Dacoits deployed in southern Punjab and in interior Sindh, provided the fleeing TTP militants rest areas and safe passage. The latter started dumping their arms, ammunition and explosives in the safe havens for their future exploits. A time came when the Dacoits started making use of the stored weapons.
Once the TTP gained access to the US and NATO sophisticated arms and equipment after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in Aug 2021, the dacoits seem to be sharing the booty. They now have rocket propelled launchers, mortars, heavy machine guns and long range weapons.
The US-NATO arsenal in Afghanistan has strengthened TTP as well as the Sindhi Dacoits and have made things difficult for the security forces and the police. Support from foreign hands cannot be ruled out.
The police find themselves seriously handicapped because of the old vintage vehicles, armoured cars and obsolete weapons, all in poor condition.
There is also a lack of will on part of the rulers and administrators in Sindh due to their own vested interests. This is evident from the fact that so many police operations have been launched, and even the Rangers assisted them, but to no avail.
The latest tragic incident in which 12 cops embraced shahadat, is a wake-up call for the Sindh Govt as well as the Punjab Govt to deal with this menace with an iron hand and to eliminate it.
Terrorism espoused by TTP and BLA supplemented by Daku Raj, smuggling and drug trafficking are a toxic combination.
The Govt and the military establishment are in step to deal with multiple challenges and to restore the dwindling economy. Steps are being taken to deal with the curse of social media polluting the minds of the people.
After the approval of money for the planned Operation Azm e Istehkam, the Army high command should now plan and execute operations against the terrorists, Dakus, smugglers, drug peddlars and digital terrorists in a skillful and pragmatic manner to eliminate all the scourges harming the integrity of the country and safety of the people.
