SUKKUR: Sindh government moved into action against several police officers on Thursday after ‘collateral damage’ in a drone attack during an operation against a group of suspected criminals in the Shadi Shaheed area of Khairpur district a day earlier.

It was officially confirmed that three/four persons were killed in a drone attack on a suspected hideout of criminals in the early hours of Wednesday.

Sources in the Sukkur police told Dawn that the police action was aimed at arresting Nadir Hussain Dharejo and his associates who had allegedly killed four brothers on March 21 in Anwarpur village, located within the limits of the Kandhra police station of Sukkur district.

The Sukkur SSP had formed a joint investigation team (JIT) and ordered arrest of the culprits soon after the gruesome murders.

Field force used drones in violation of SOPs to pursue suspects wanted in murder case of four brothers; raid left three men and a small girl dead

On Wednesday, the Sukkur police received a tip-off about presence of the wanted suspects in the hilly area of Shadi Shaheed in Khairpur.

Accordingly, teams from the Kandhra, Patni and Salehpat police stations launched a cross-district operation to apprehend them.

Upon seeing the police team closing in, the suspects opened fire, which was returned by the police, said the sources. However, the suspects fled the area.

Considering it hard to track them down in the hilly area, the field force decided to use a drone to attack their suspected hideout. However, this resulted only in collateral damage.

According to Khairpur police spokesman Waqar Soomro, the action was taken by the Sukkur police.

He said that two men, Sadruddin Dharejo and Zamin Ali Dharejo, were killed. An eight-year-old girl, Alisha Dharejo and a man, Abdul Sami Dharejo, were injured in the raid.

The victims were taken to the Khairpur Civil Hospital, he added.

Soon after the incident, enraged members of the area’s Dharejo community gathered at the Khairpur hospital and held a demonstration demanding a transparent inquiry into the incident and appropriate action against those responsible for the casualties.

As the field force had not obtained mandatory permission before carrying out a drone attack, the authorities concerned took a serious notice of the violation of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures).

IGP Javed Alam Odho ordered immediate disciplinary action against the police force involved.

Subsequently, SHOs of Kandhra, Patni and Saleh Pat police stations were suspended and an inquiry committee, headed by the Ghotki SSP was formed.

According to the FIR (No. 32/2026) of the March 21 killings, Nadir Hussain Dharejo and his associates had stormed the residence of Ali Hassan Dharejo at about 12:30am, unleashed a hail of gunfire with sophisticated weapons to kill the four sleeping brothers — Mehdi Hassan, 36, Akhtar Ali, 33, Ghulam Akbar, 22, and Ghulam Asghar, 20. Their fifth brother, Ghulam Hassan, 26, survived with multiple gunshot wounds.

A statement issued from the office of Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar said: “Four civilians were killed in a drone attack in the Saeed Khan Lakho village”.

The home minister and IGP Odho have sought a report from the Sukkur DIG about the whole episode.

An order issued by the Sindh Police stated that Kandhra SHO Shoukat Ali Arain, Patni SHO Imran Khan Bhayo and Saleh Pat SHO Allauddin Phulpoto have been placed under suspension and “closed to ‘B’ Company PHQ/Garden Karachi”.

The home minister ordered a “transparent and comprehensive investigation” into the incident. “All aspects of the incident should be reviewed in detail,” he said.

He appointed the Counter Terrorism Police Additional IG Zulfiqar Larik as the inquiry officer.

Published in Dawn, April 24th, 2026