Abducted constable rescued after Katcha dacoit operation in Rahim Yar Khan

A policeman kidnapped by Katcha dacoits from Rahim Yar Khan's riverine Machka area two days ago has been rescued by the Punjab Police in an operation, a spokesperson announced on Sunday.

On Thursday, a group of Katcha bandits blew up two police vehicles with a rocket in Machka, martyring 12 cops and wounding six others.

Constable Ahmed Nawaz was abducted by robbers heavily armed with sophisticated modern weaponry after the attack on police mobile.

In a statement, Rizwan Omar Gondal, District Police Officer (DPO) Rahim Yar Khan, said that the police department was working with full strength in the riverine areas.

Constable Nawaz was reportedly released in exchange for dacoit Jabbar Lolai, who had been in police custody, according to sources cited by Geo News. However, the police have neither confirmed nor denied this exchange.

A video circulating on social media showed Katcha bandits celebrating with gunfire following the release of their accomplice.

After Nawaz’s release, Punjab Police Inspector General (IG) Dr Usman Anwar met with the constable's family to inform them of his safe return.

Dr Anwar stated that every member of the Punjab Police was crucial to the force, and Nawaz's recovery was a top priority for his department. He also emphasised that the Punjab Police were prepared to deal firmly with terrorists, assailants, and criminals.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz appreciated the police on a successful operation in Katcha to safely recover the abducted constable.

She praised DPO Gondal and his team, saying they had done a commendable job. She expressed her best wishes for Constable Nawaz and his family, and said: "We thank Allah Almighty for his safe recovery."

Bandit groups in riverine areas have always been a hurdle in maintaining law and order for the provincial governments in Sindh and Punjab despite conducting multiple operations to eliminate them.

A National Action Plan implementation review committee decided in a meeting at the National Counter Terror­ism Auth­ority (NACTA) headquarters in April to launch a joint operation of Sindh and Punjab police forces against notorious dacoits of the katcha areas in Sindh.

The directives were issued by Interior Minister Naqvi who chaired the high-level meeting attended by the interior secretary, heads of Nacta and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), police chiefs of Punjab, Sindh, KP, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and provincial home secretaries.