RAHIM YAR KHAN: The criminals of Katcha and neighbouring areas have again started targetting motorists on Sukkur-Multan Motorway M-5 after a gap of a few months.

On Aug 7 (Thursday) at 11.30pm, more than 10 criminals tried to stop a coach bound for Karachi from Lahore at location 12 near Taaluka Tando Haasil Pathan, district Ghotki near Punjab-Sindh border. But when the driver didn’t stop the vehicle, the criminals started firing. As a result, the front tyre of the coach burst.

A Few bullets also struck the body of the bus but luckily no passenger was injured. Later, the damaged coach was transported to police station B section Ghotki. A motorway user in his video shared on social media claimed that a law-enforcement agency (LEA) had established pickets at each kilometer at left side of M-5 from Rohri toll plaza to Mirpur Mathelo interchange near Punjab-Sindh border to keep a vigilant eye on the movement of criminals a month ago.

In the footage, he said a short time ago, the Katcha criminals of Sindh and Punjab were active here and they were targeting people but after the arrival of LEA the circumstances turned normal. And during last month no incident occurred in which dacoits of Katcha area looted any vehicle or beat a driver.

A local journalist of Ghotki told this correspondent that after some encounters between police and dacoit gangs of Katcha area in both provinces, the Shar, Kosh and Indhar dacoit gangs were adopting a strategy that if police killed their one accomplice, they targetted two policemen.

National Highway and Motorway Police (NHMP) officials say their duty is only to control traffic rules violations and police in both provinces claim that their jurisdiction is out of M-5 and only National Highway Authority (NHA) looks after the law and order situation on the Sukkur-Multan Motorway.

A NHA spokesperson says it is responsibility of every district police in all provinces to provide security to motorway users.

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024