Operation against dacoits in Shikarpur halted: police official

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shikarpur on Saturday said the ongoing operation against dacoits in the district's Garhi Tegho area had been temporarily halted till the procurement of new equipment.

The police officer said the operation will be on pause till the police get three bulletproof vehicles and new weapons. "The operation will resume in a day or two after we come up with a new course of action."

Meanwhile, a police spokesperson, later in the day, said an operation against dacoits was underway in several riverine areas of Dadu. 

Earlier in the day, Director-General (DG) Larkana Mazhar Nawaz Sheikh had said the operation against dacoits in Shikarpur had entered day seven. 

About 300 more police personnel, including 200 commandos from Karachi, had joined the operation. A house-to-house search was being carried out in riverine areas, he added.

The official noted that an exchange of fire took place between dacoits and police personnel during the operation. Two dacoits of the Belo Teghani gang were injured in police firing, he added.

Meanwhile, police checkposts are being set up around kaccha areas. Nine out of 12 abductees who were kidnapped from this area have been recovered so far.

According to police, two policemen and a photographer have been martyred and six policemen injured during an attack by the dacoits. Meanwhile, eight dacoits have been killed and 12 injured in the operation.

'Law and order situation under control'

Last night, speaking on Geo News programme "Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath", Sindh's Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that the law and order situation is largely under control in the affected areas.

He said that the morale of the police is high and the law enforcers have been given full support.

"There will be no compromise on law and order," Shah asserted.

The provincial minister said that the government will bring the oppressors to justice. "Operation will be on a permanent basis in kaccha areas", he added.

"There were worse situations in the past. Sindh Police has confronted and eliminated such terrorist groups. People could not move from one district to another without a convoy," Shah recalled.

He also vowed that wherever there are tyrants and criminals, the authorities will take strict action against them.