Pakistani thugs on Thursday killed six policemen and held 24 people,
including police, during a raid to clear an island hideout in the south
of Punjab province.
Pakistan(indiafacts.org)
The operation to flush out the gangsters entered its ninth day as 1,600 security officials, including police officials and paramilitary Rangers, battled for control of the island in Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's power base of Punjab.
"Police killed four top criminals of Chotu Gang and wounded eight, while six police officials are dead and seven injured," Punjab police spokeswoman Nabeela Ghazanfar told Reuters.
"The
gang has held 24 persons hostage, including police officials. We are
not sure how many civilian and police officials are among the hostages."
Authorities suspect the gang is behind hundreds of cases of kidnapping for ransom, murder and robberies.
"It
is a very difficult operation, because the gang has made its hideout on
a small island, surrounded by water and dense jungle," Ghazanfar added.
Authorities identified the leader of the gang as Ghulam Rasool, also known as Chotu, who is active in the border areas of the provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan.
Pakistan
launched an armed crackdown in Punjab after an Easter Day bombing in
the eastern city of Lahore killed 72 people last month.
While
Pakistan's attention has for years been focused on the Taliban and al
Qaeda threat on the Afghan border in the remote northwest, militants and
criminals have quietly expanded their influence and won recruits in the
country's heartland of Punjab.
Most of the militants belong to banned organisations such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Sipah-e-Sahaba.
Pakistan's powerful military and intelligence establishment have long
been accused of tolerating or even supporting such groups.
Pakistani authorities deny supporting any militants.
Attacks
such as the Easter bombing show that ties between Punjabi groups and
the Pakistani Taliban fighting to overthrow the government help boost
the groups' capabilities, while giving the Taliban cover to operate
outside traditional strongholds.
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