Islamabad, Aug 23 (EFE).- At least 12 police officers were killed and seven others injured in a rocket attack by bandits in the riverside area of Rahim Yar Khan district in Pakistan’s Punjab province’s, police said Friday.
The Kacha area is spread over 15,000 square kilometers (5,791 square miles) on both sides of the Indus River passing through the southern Punjab and Sindh provinces.
The area is used by heavily armed bandits to seek shelter from police and law enforcement forces.
The attack took place on Thursday evening when two police vehicles, who were in the area for an operation, stopped on their way back due to stagnant rain water.
“After completing their operation duty, these policemen were returning in two vehicles when armed bandits attacked them with rockets as soon the vehicles stopped because of rain water,” Muhammed Zulfiqar, a district police official, told EFE on Friday.
He said that after the incident, the District Police Officer reached the site along with extra personnel and rescued the injured.
“11 cops were killed on the spot and eight others were injured while one of the wounded officials succumbed to his wounds in a hospital,” the police official added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack in a statement and ordered authorities to identify those responsible for the attack and punish them.
“Prime Minister directed to take immediate and effective action against the attackers in the Kacha area,” the statement said.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed her grief over the demise of the police officers.
“It is indeed very sad but this will not go unavenged. My team under the supervision of Home Secretary, IG (Inspector General) and CTD (Counter Terrorism Department) has been dispatched with clear directions to sort them out decisively,” she wrote on social media platform X on Thursday.
Bandit groups in riverine areas have always been a hurdle in maintaining law and order for the provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab despite multiple operations to eliminate them.
These groups often rob passersby and locals in the area and have also taken some people hostage for ransom in the past. EFE
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