DERA GHAZI KHAN: The seven policemen kidnapped by members of the notorious Attaullah Pat, Sikhani and Lound gangs near the riverine area of Tagu Musani in Rajanpur district a day before were “rescued” in a police operation before daybreak on Monday.

Sources told Dawn that there was no exchange of fire during the “police operation” and that the alleged kidnappers had managed to flee.

The sources said that the release of the policemen had, in fact, been negotiat­ed through a local influential person and that the police had given in to the gangs’ demands for releasing some of their members who had been arrested in previous police actions in the area.

ASI Muzammil and constables Jamshaid, Safdar Hus­sain, Zeeshan Haider, Sabir Hussain, Mohammad Shakir and Mohammad Luq­man of the Bangla Ichha police station in Rajanpur’s Rojhan tehsil had been kidnapped when they were patrolling the area on a boat in the Indus.

Sources said the gangs had given the police 24 hours to release some of their arrested members and threa­tened to kill the policemen if their demands were not met.

Speaking to Dawn, Dera Ghazi Khan division Regio­nal Police Officer Reh­matullah Niazi confirmed that the policemen had been rescued, and said that the police were trying to trace members of the gangs behind the abduction. He denied caving in to the gangs’ demands, but admitted that he, too, had heard rumours of some backchannel efforts to get the policemen released and was looking into the matter.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2017