The recovery of a kidnapped child and two men from Sindh’s Katcha area offers yet another reminder of a grim, unresolved truth: large swathes of Pakistani territory remain under the de facto control of criminal syndicates.
The Katcha belt, a forested no-man’s-land along the Indus in southern Punjab and upper Sindh, has long served as a sanctuary for dacoits armed with military-grade weapons and protected by feudal and political networks. Decades of piecemeal operations have failed to secure lasting peace, transforming what was once a policing challenge into a national disgrace. Unless Pakistan’s security and civil authorities coordinate to eradicate this bandit ecosystem, we will continue to bury our police in bulletproof coffins and ransom our citizens with silence.
The terrain of Katcha may be difficult, but the bigger obstacle is man-made: a toxic nexus between criminal gangs, tribal powerbrokers, and corrupt elements within law enforcement. Dacoits control illegal timber and land trades, run smuggling routes, and collect protection money. They occupy state forestland and private farmland with impunity. Their videos flood social media, taunting the state, and often, they operate with the quiet complicity of local elites.
Even when the state mobilizes, its actions are frustratingly cyclical. Grand operations are launched after every high-profile attack, complete with armoured vehicles, drones, and front-page pledges of zero tolerance. Yet, within months, the hideouts resurface, the gangs regroup, and the violence returns. The reality is damning: Pakistan has launched six major crackdowns in Katcha since 2006. Not one has resulted in permanent stability.
Why? Because while tactical action is deployed, strategic continuity is not. Police officers are rotated. Political will dissipates. And the structural enablers–feudal patrons, complicit officials, absentee governance–are never touched. When powerful leaders provide cover for criminal gangs in return for illicit revenue or electoral muscle, what chance does the ordinary citizen have?
It is no longer enough to kill or capture a few dacoits and claim success. The entire criminal infrastructure, from top to bottom, must be systematically dismantled. This demands establishing permanent, fortified security outposts throughout the Katcha belt, securing the terrain with year-round, relentless patrols, and, most crucially, ruthlessly prosecuting those within the system who enable the parallel order-be they sardars, SSPs, or MNAs. Justice should be blind to rank and influence.
To their credit, both Sindh and Punjab police have recently shown resolve. In Khairpur, Ghotki, and Rahim Yar Khan, operations have grown sharper and more technologically equipped, using drone surveillance, armoured personnel carriers, and precision intelligence. But we are still nowhere near “peace.”
The state would have to decide (now) whether it intends to govern all of Pakistan or merely parts of it. If Katcha is to be reclaimed, it needs to be done with total clarity, total commitment, and total control.
