Deadly ‘rocket attack’ by gang of bandits kills 12 police officers, main suspect shot in retaliation

Pakistani News: As many as 11 policemen were killed on Thursday when gunmen reportedly carrying rocket-propelled grenades ambushed a police convoy in a deadly attack on uniformed men in Pakistan. The attack took place in the ‘kacha’ area of ​​Machka in Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab province and also injured nine personnel, one of whom died of his injuries on Friday, media reports said.

Dawn quoted Punjab police as saying that two police vans with 22 personnel were returning from a police camp in Rahim Yar Khan when one of them broke down on the muddy road due to recent rains. The convoy was suddenly fired upon with rockets immediately after. In a retaliatory attack, the police shot the main culprit.

Machka is a riverine area along the Indus and is known for its robber hideouts.

Although such attacks have become more common in Pakistan in recent years, never before has such a high number of police casualties been reported in a single attack.

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Pakistan’s ‘historic operation’ to track down killers

Shortly after the attack on Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had said that it would not go “unavenged”. “My team under the supervision of Home Minister, IG and CTD has been sent with clear instructions to resolve them decisively,” she posted on X (formerly Twitter).

11 policemen embraced shahadat in a rocket attack by Kacha gangs in Machka. It is indeed very sad but this will not go unpunished. My team under the supervision of Minister of Interior, IG and CTD has been sent with clear instructions to resolve them once and for all.

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) August 22, 2024

President Asif Ali Zardari also strongly condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the victims, while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered “immediate and effective action” against the perpetrators.

The Dawn report cited above quotes Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar as saying that both the Punjab and Sindh police carried out a “historic operation” in the area, with 320 Punjab police personnel deployed on the ground, besides the Sindh police.

In retaliation for Thursday’s attack, the main suspect was shot, police reported on X. Five of his accomplices were also injured.

“Punjab police have responded to the terrorist attack in Kutcha areas. The main suspect who attacked policemen yesterday, Bashir Shar, has met his logical end,” the X-post, originally in Urdu, said.

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Gangs that have been active for decades

Organized criminal gangs have reportedly been active in these border areas for decades, often resorting to “kidnapping for ransom.”

In the early 1990s, the army in Sindh launched an operation against these criminal gangs, but successive governments failed to maintain law and order, paving the way for the return of these gangs, the report said.

As security forces continue to carry out operations against bandits, they hide in the forested rural areas and evade arrest.

Three policemen were killed earlier this month when river thieves attacked a checkpoint at Bhong. A policeman lost his life in the Machka area during an operation last month in which four dacoits were killed.