DERA GHAZI KHAN: Police have failed to dismantle the network of dangerous criminals, as incidents of robbery and motorcycle snatching have been occurring daily in Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa Sharif for several days, leaving residents feeling increasingly insecure.

Traders’ associations in Taunsa and Dera Ghazi Khan have demanded that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz take action to address the ineffectiveness of the Dera police.

Over the past few days, dozens of incidents of motorcycle snatching and robberies have been reported by residents in Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa Sharif.

Last week, Hashim was fatally shot by highwaymen when he resisted robbery attempts within the jurisdiction of Gaddai police in Dera Ghazi Khan. The highwaymen made off with his motorcycle.

Earlier, another youth was injured in the Churahta area of Dera Ghazi Khan, with the highwaymen escaping with the snatched motorcycle.

In Dera Ghazi Khan, highwaymen mostly strike during Sehri and Iftari hours.

In a robbery incident in Basti Azam, Ashfaq and Shahnawaz were shot and seriously injured by dacoits when they resisted the robbery bid. The robbery took place in the jurisdiction of the Taunsa Saddar police.

On Barthi Road near the Right Bank Canal in Taunsa, two gunmen shot at and injured Ashraf, a resident of Baghlani village. They took away his motorcycle.

In another incident, robbers looted Rs300,000 at gunpoint from Owais Sheikh’s clothing shop near Dr Najibur Rahman’s clinic.

A 16-year-old youth was shot and injured by unidentified assailants while asleep. Another 16-year-old youth was killed on Wednesday night in Barkhadi, near Koh Sulaiman on Barthi Road.

Rescue 1122 shifted the injured youth to the Taunsa Tehsil Headquarters Hospital. The injured young man, Muhammad Shahid, was referred to the Dera Ghazi Khan Teaching Hospital due to his critical condition.

The incident occurred within the jurisdiction of the Taunsa city police.

In the village of Sonra Jhok Khoja Wali, two brothers -- Osama Bashir Khoja, class IX student, and Muhammad Mubashir Bashir, class V student -- were returning home from school when three gunmen riding a motorcycle approached them and snatched their motorcycle before fleeing.

The presidents of the association of traders in Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa Sharif, Jan Alim Leghari and Zahid Javed Makli, along with their office bearers, have appealed to the chief minister to address the deteriorating law and order situation in DG Khan and Taunsa.

District Police Officer Ahmed Mohyiddin could not be reached for a comment despite repeated attempts via phone calls and WhatsApp messages.

SUSPENDED: The secretary of special healthcare department has suspended office superintendent of the Sardar Fateh Muhammed Buzdar Institute of Cardiology, Dera Ghazi Khan, over misconduct under the Peeda Act beside baring him from entering the premises of the institute .

Sources said the department has suspended office superintendent Fakhar Aziz in the light of public complaints that he had collected bribes from people in return for providing them jobs at the health facility .

The secretary has suspended the office superintendent under the Peeda Act 2006 and directed him to report to the head office in Lahore .

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024