Following escalating bandit activity in the Kacha areas, the Sindh government has initiated a comprehensive crackdown. Sindh Police are conducting thorough investigations to determine the sources of weapon supplies to bandits in these regions.
Reports suggest that influential figures in Sindh procure weapons from Balochistan, which are then transported to the Kacha areas of Shikarpur under police escort. These weapons allegedly originate from Naseerabad and Dera Murad Jamali.
Recent arrests in the Jacobabad area have led to significant seizures, including SMGs, LMGs, G3 rifles, and over two thousand ammunition rounds. Jacobabad Police have charged the involved parties under the Anti-Terrorism Act for illegal arms trafficking following a covert operation along the Sindh-Balochistan border.
During the operation, authorities confiscated a police mobile and a double cabin vehicle, both reportedly used for transporting weapons under police protocol. Seven suspects, including three police officers from Shikarpur, were arrested. The police vehicle registered under SPN–375, was reportedly assigned to Babul Bhayo, an advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh. The circumstances under which this vehicle was used in the smuggling operation are being thoroughly investigated by a Joint Investigation Team (JIT).
SSP Jacobabad, Saleem Shah, disclosed to the media that the seized weapons were intended for delivery to bandits in Shikarpur to foment unrest in the province. The mastermind behind this operation, identified as Ikhtiar Lashari, is a notorious arms dealer with multiple criminal cases at the Gharhi Yasin police station in Shikarpur.
During the operation, police apprehended seven suspects from Shikarpur in the implicated police mobile and two other vehicles. Among those arrested were Nabeel Bhayo, a relative of a notable political figure in Sindh, Ikhtiar Ali Lashari, Tofiq Ahmed Gujar, and Zakir Bhayo, along with the police mobile’s in-charge Imtiaz Ali Bhayo, Baqaaullah, and Sanaullah. Babal Bhayo’s son was not in the vehicle during the arrest.
Additionally, a double-cabin vehicle previously used by a former provincial minister was seized in a related operation along the Sindh-Balochistan border, containing a substantial cache of weapons. A press conference planned to address these findings was postponed due to the identification of the police vehicle and subsequent political pressures.
