May 6, 2004

The ‘clean up operations’ in interior Sindh remain controversial given the contradictory claims made by the dacoits and the police force. The situation is further compounded by the print and electronic media’s reporting, claims Imdad Soomro

News is often sensationalized by the media as was the case about the clean-up operation against dacoits in the kutcha area of Sindh, but the success of such operations remains questionable. The same is true of the Sukkur police range’s operation ‘Al-Shahbaz’ against a dacoit called Raj, in the Alaf kutcha area and Shah Belo that are dangerous areas surrounded by river islands. “We are determined to clean the kutcha from notorious dacoits’ gangs,” claimed Shabir Shaikh, DPO, Sukkur. “This time we will not return empty handed.”

But things are not the way they have been claimed or reported in the print and electronic media. This correspondent visited the kutcha area recently and the situation remains unchanged. Huts are being set on fire and destroyed and what the police say about the dacoits’ hide-outs is only ‘flash-tricks’ for media coverage.

When asked if they have found or seen dacoits in the past few months, men and women who were busy harvesting the fields said that they have not encountered any dharel (dacoit) in their part of the kutcha. They were referring to Alaf kutcha where police recently established a camp. “This is the greatest success the police have ever got,” says Agha Tahir, SP investigation, and in-charge of the camp.

A police official in Sukkur, however, seemed to be busy arranging for the local journalists and cameramen to cover the event. “This operation looks as though it is being conducted not by the police but by the press,” a local resident was heard saying. Though the police have claimed to have killed three alleged dacoits, the news has not been confirmed by neutral sources or other officials.

Meanwhile, vulnerable villagers have been arrested on suspicion and kept in various police stations in the kutcha. The Mahar community alleged that an eight-year-old girl, Fatima, was burnt to death while the police torched homes in the kutcha. When the police official was inquired about the allegation, he neither verified nor rejected it. “The operation will continue till we get results,” said AIG, Rao Brohi while visiting the police camp in Alaf kutcha. The task as they say is to infiltrate into Shah Belo, where according to police at least 20 gangs of dacoits are present in their secret hideouts. The operation in Shah Belo is full of controversy that remains to be clarified.

Shah Belo is located in a dense forest surrounded by islands. It stretches across two districts, and has never been accessible to the police. According to police officials some 20 gangs of dacoits are reportedly in hiding there. “It is suicidal to attempt entry into Shah Belo without bullet proof equipment and boat launches,” says Ramzaan Channa, DIG operation, Sukkur.

Dacoits from Mahar, Jatoi, Shaikh, Misrani and Chachar tribes have safe hideouts in Shah Belo. It is said that no one without the ‘influentials’ of the said tribes can gain entry into this area. Hundreds of acres of land are being cultivated by the gangs here where they live freely. They have at their disposal motorcycles, mobile phones and the latest weapons provided to them by their contacts.

The so-called operation against these dacoits is claimed to be at its peak as police authorities reportedly told some journalists in Sukkur. “One of the leaders of the gang said that the police were only chasing their shadows, they would never get them,” said a local journalist.

While talking to journalists Shabir Shaikh, DPO Sukkur, claimed that three dacoits had been killed in an exchange of fire between the police team and the dacoits at Fato Patan. “We’ve not heard a single shot being fired around Fato Patan,” some local villagers said on the condition of anonymity.

The coverage on TV and in the newspapers is quite interesting: photographers and reporters are taken to operation sights by police officials in official vehicles. As journalists and photographers arrive at the scene, the police personnel are alerted and they take positions for the cameras. As a result, the public is made to believe that the police are making great headway in nabbing the dacoits. A kutcha villager, however, laughed at the situation, adding that he was sceptical of the entire exercise, as he has seen it many times before. His concern was for the harvesting of the wheat crop since the season is almost here.

Such operations against dacoits have a bad record since Ziaul Haq’s regime. During martial law the peaceful kutcha people were humiliated and persecuted by the operations’ personnel, which led to a general sense of disillusionment amongst them. “That’s why the kutcha people even befriend the dacoits, instead of being on the side of those who are supposed to maintain law and order,” said an analyst.

In those days a man with a long moustache would be considered a dacoit or seen to be connected with them in the eyes of the police and the clean up operation team. In Sona Bindi, district Dadu, operations against Paro Chandio and his gang often caused great terror for the kutcha people.

The operation teams beat up the villagers, burnt their homes, and took away their cattle. This angered the kutcha villagers, and at the same time encouraged some to join the dacoits. Even Paro Chandio who went on to become ‘king of the kutcha’ in the late ‘80s is said to be a victim of police injustices. “It is worth mentioning that the police and other state proponents are part of the dacoit phenomenon, in what was once a peace loving land,” said a former political activist.

During the MRD movement the people of Sindh were targeted in the name of so-called operations against the dacoits. This happened in a village in Dadu district, namely, Brahmani village which was burnt down and reportedly some innocent villagers were killed and injured in the army operation.

This enraged the enlightened community in Sindh and Manzoor Solangi, a poet, has written about it in his famous poem, Dharel piya goliyoon (they poured bullets over huts and homes of the innocent saying they were capturing the dacoits). The poem was sung from village to village and town to town by the famous singer, Sarmad Sindhi.

A positive outcome of such operations came from the ones launched by the then COAS General Asif Nawaz in 1991. During these operations some notorious gangs were broken up and destroyed and no harm was done to the villagers. But soon after, things reverted to what they had been before.

Some people even hypothesized that the dacoits had the support of those who were deriving political gains from the crime and violence. This time the situation remains the same. People of the kutcha are leaving their homes in the hundreds instead of preparing to harvest the wheat crop because they fear the operation’s authorities.

Journalist Laala Asad Pathan says that all folks who live in the kutcha are considered ‘criminals’ or accused of supporting the dacoits. It is almost considered a crime to live in the kutcha these days. “But they forget that these people have been living here for many generations. The fact that they observe their traditions and customs should not mean that they should be victimized for their way of life,” said a social analyst.

A senior journalist and once a communist leader, Shabir Bhutto, seems to support the police activities and even claims that the police have had success. “I am of the view that the police are targeting the dacoits, but not the ordinary folks this time, and they are doing a great job.” However, there are others who believe otherwise.

The ‘Al Shahbaz’ operation has been completed, the police have cordoned off Alaf kutcha and claim that Shah Belo has been surrounded by them. But, Shah Belo is still inaccessible to the police personnel. “Because of the risk of ‘heavy losses’ we are taking necessary steps before infiltrating Shah Belo,” says Ramzaan Channa, DIG, operation Sukkur.

According to local sources, Shabir Shaikh, DPO Sukkur, has met the elders in Alaf kutcha for their support to maintain peace in the area. The much talked about and controversial Shah Belo, is still a ‘no go’ area for police authorities.

A Sukkur-based journalist for a TV channel interviewed the dacoits who reportedly told him that, “If the government does not withdraw the cases against us the law and order situation will worsen even more than what it is currently.”

Someone said it was such a farce that “journalists can get into Shah Belo, but not the armed police teams.” A source revealed that the police had cordoned off only Sukkur and Pano Aqil, but the main hideouts of dacoits in Shah Belo were in the Shikarpur district. “Authorities wouldn’t dare go there because the influentials won’t allow it,” the same source said.

On April 17, the IGP, Sindh, surveyed the cordoned area aerially, and vowed to destroy the gangs of dacoits. During his briefing to journalists at Azizpur forest, he urged them to give positive coverage.

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