SUKKUR: As many as 12 people, including one policeman, were killed and many others wounded in an armed attack and ensuing police operation in a village near Ubauro town of Ghotki district on Thursday.

A group of heavily armed men, believed to be Shar tribesmen, first stormed Mahboob Salro village killing six of their Salro community rivals over a long-running dispute. At least four other members of the Salro community were wounded in the attack.

The Salro-dominated village is situated in the riverine area of Rwanti within the limits of Ubauro taluka.

According to the Ubauro police, a strong contingent of suitably equipped with sophisticated arms and riding armoured personnel carriers (APCs) moved into the strife-torn area and challenged the assailants. Armed men from the Salro community also took on the assailants leading to a fierce gun battle, with Salros and police being on the one side and Shar tribesmen on the other.

Members of the rival sides had taken up positions within their respective localities and were exchanging fire till the last reports came in late in the evening.

Cop martyred as police surround villages, challenge assailants; gang leader, close aide among dead

Giving details of the violent incidents, local reporters and police said that “gangsters belonging to the Shar tribe attacked Salros to avenge murder of their members some time ago”. The attack, they said, left three Salros dead on the spot. Seven others were rushed to the different hospitals and three of them succumbed to their wounds during treatment, they added.

Two of the wounded victims died at the Ubauro Taluka Hospital and one at a major hospital in Rahim Yar Khan, where four Salros were under treatment.

Five of the deceased Salros were identified as Ibrahim, Ayaz, Soobo, Ali Gohar and Abdul Hameed. The man who died at the Rahim Yar Khan hospital was yet to be identified.

Describing the attackers as members of dreaded ‘Shar gang of dacoits’, the police said a strong suitably equipped contingent moved into the area to bring the situation under control but it was also attacked by the gang.

Sources in the area said that Salros had already taken up positions in the village to defend themselves as Shars did not stop firing after the attack, using sophisticated weapons.

The police contingent, drawn from various police stations of Ghotki, surrounded the village as well as the nearby locality where Shars had entrenched themselves and were firing on Salros.

A statement issued by Sukkur DIG retired Captain Faisal Abdullah Chachar claimed that five of the Shar gangsters were gunned down while a constable, Amjad Ali, laid down his life in the line of duty during the police action. He kissed martyrdom while fighting against the outlaws within the limits of the Shaheed Deen Mohammad Laghari police station, he said. Another constable, Khalil Ahmed, driver of one of the APCs, was also wounded, he said, adding that Amjad Ali was a resident of the Qadirpur area of Ghotki.

Among the five dead gangsters were Rano Shar, the ring leader, and Sanaullah Shar, his close aide, the DIG said.

Meanwhile, the funeral prayers for constable Amjad Ali, were offered in the lawns of the SSP Office. He was later laid to rest in the graveyard of Qadirpur with full police honours.

Ghotki Deputy Commissioner Manzoor Ahmed Kanrani, DIG Chachar, senior police officials, personnel and a large number of people attended the funeral.

Speaking to the media, DIG Chachar expressed sympathy with the martyr’s family and said constable Amjad Ali was a courageous and brave policeman.

He pledged that the department would provide all possible assistance to the martyr’s family.

“The morale of police force is high; the operation against dacoits will continue until they meet their logical end,” he declared.

He said that the joint operation by police and Rangers, led by Ghotki SSP Mohammad Anwar Khetran, was underway and would continue till complete peace was restored in the area.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2025