Draining the swamp – Newspaper

THE brutal attack in Rahim Yar Khan a few days ago, which left 12 policemen dead, brought to mind the proverb: “If you want to get rid of mosquitoes, dry the swamp where they breed”. The katcha areas, or riverine areas of southern Punjab and upper Sindh, have become a perennial headache. The frequency of attacks and the scale of casualties have increased in recent times. However, the state’s response to this complex ‘cancer’ has so far been to treat it with ‘aspirin’.

The riverine region of Pakistan lies where the borders of Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab meet. This tri-border area is strategically important because the Koh-i-Sulaiman hill has forced all the railway lines, gas and oil pipelines, rivers and highways to converge into a narrow geographical corridor that runs through it. To understand the complexity of crime in this strategic area, let us delve deeper into the issue.

In general, weak governance and security gaps in tri-border areas fuel criminal infestation. For example, criminal gangs threaten shipping routes in the tri-border areas of Indonesia, the Philippines and Brunei. Similarly, the Liptako Gourma tri-junction of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger has become the epicenter of militant attacks. Likewise, Tres Fronteras, or the triple border of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, has become a hotbed of illicit activity, including drug trafficking, deforestation and organized crime networks.

Since the three provinces of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan have different governments with different priorities, there is a lack of synergy in their efforts against criminal elements. Moreover, the criminals follow a peristaltic movement: when pressure is exerted through kinetic operations in one province, they move and spread in another. Secondly, ‘crimes and cusecs’ in the riverine area are directly related. When the water level i.e. cusecs rises in the mighty Indus, especially in the monsoon season, there is a spike in crime and dacoits dominate the terrain due to limited mobility of LEAs. Thirdly, sugarcane sown in Rahim Yar Khan yields the highest sugar content, leading to extensive cultivation. This area provides camouflage to dacoits during the November-January period when the water in the Indus starts receding.

Since Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan have different governments, there is a lack of synergy in their fight against criminals.

Fourthly, there are geographical enclaves of one district or enclave within another district or enclave, which makes operations against criminals difficult. Rajanpur lies west of the Indus, but the enclave, Bangla-Icha, lies east of the Indus in Rahim Yar Khan district. Bangla-Icha has historically proved to be the Waterloo for our police, with most of the casualties occurring there because it takes the Rajanpur police reserves five hours to reach Bangla-Icha in case of a crisis, while the RYK police hardly takes half an hour. Similarly, Machka, the site of the recent attack, is a geographical enclave of Punjab in Sindh, where the Sindh police can be more effective and responsive.

Fifth, criminal franchises flourish in regions where economic disparities are greatest. Districts with the greatest economic disparities and lowest HDI, such as Rajanpur, Ghotki, Kashmore, Dadu, etc., are breeding grounds for criminal gangs. Finally, political economy plays an important role. In some areas, dacoits are the antidote to the bourgeois feudal system, and in other places, waderas use the patronage of these bandits for political ends. Fake police encounters involving the innocent relatives of dacoits alienate the youth and swell the ranks of criminals.

To bring stability to the tri-border region, a long-term proactive approach is required, involving both kinetic and non-kinetic actions. First, the three provinces need unity of effort and pooling of forces to minimize the coordination deficit. A simultaneous and coordinated hammer-anvil strategy adopted by the three provinces can squeeze out the criminal networks. Second, administrative-legal decisions are required to merge the enclaves into respective districts or provinces. An inter-provincial task force can be formed to take structural decisions regarding these geographical anomalies. In 2017-18, the Punjab government merged the Rajanpur enclave of Bangla-Icha into Rahim Yar Khan district. Criminal activities came down drastically after that decision. However, the decision was reversed due to feudal pressure.

Thirdly, the LEAs need to be equipped with superior weapons and gadgets as compared to the criminals. The dacoits have 12.7 mm anti-aircraft guns, 81 mm mortars, RPGs and anti-tank mines which not only hampers the mobility of the police but also makes the police easy prey. In such a threatening environment, the police need amphibious capabilities and vertical aerial gadgets in the form of VTOL drones, night surveillance drones, thermal imaging scopes for weapons and simple armed drones that can drop mortars under gravity.

In addition, criminal arrests will be encouraged through cash rewards and through passport controls at airports and an IVAS system at borders. This will lead to a reduction in the number of criminals.

Fourthly, stopping the conversion of cotton belts to sugarcane belts, especially near the riverbeds, will expose the movements of criminals. Fifthly, the no-go areas can be integrated with the mainland through infrastructure development. Bridges can help mainstream fragmented social strata. Such infrastructure will reduce under-governed blind spots. Sixthly, setting up a truth and reconciliation commission will help resolve long-standing tribal feuds and help innocent citizens wrongly nominated in FIRs. Finally, the marginalised areas should be integrated with the mainland through better education and employment.

In 2018, a community school was opened in the riverine area of ​​Rojhan at a mere Rs200,000. Children of bandits were admitted to this school. It became an instant success because of the free lunch and free books provided to these children. A notorious bandit, Attaullah Putt, who once dined with his grandchildren studying in the said school, appreciated the system because the children had learnt English words that he could not understand. He was surprised when his grandchildren were eager to go to this school even on Sundays! Therefore, for long-term stabilization, the pen should replace the Kalashnikov in the hands of the youth. Draining the swamp is more effective than the short-term strategy of targeting mosquitoes.

The writer has done research on the katcha areas.

Published in Dawn, September 6, 2024