August proved to be a tragic month for Pakistan’s law enforcement and security forces. Eleven police officersembraced martyrdom in a rocket ambush in Katcha.
It is evident that the dacoit problem in Sindh and Punjab’s riverine areas has persisted for decades, despite several ‘grand’ operations, including those in the early 1990s and in 2016, which involved the military. Yet, the criminals seem to bounce back every time, indicating that the state’s approach is flawed.
One proposed approach could be to disarm the local inhabitants and transform the region into a food basket through the introduction of corporate farming, similar to the efforts of Sir John Jacob, the founder of the city of Jacobabad. The area of Khangarh, then a village and now part of Jacobabad district, was under the grip of lawlessness when Sir John Jacob arrived there in 1841.
He engaged the hostile tribes by offering them employment in the development of their own area, including digging canals and constructing roads and buildings. This strategy played a pivotal role in restoring peace and prosperity to the region. In return, after Sir John Jacob’s demise, the people of the area began lighting clay lamps on his grave as an expression of gratitude and started calling Khangarh “Jacobabad.”
MUDASSAR FARID QURESHI,
Islamabad.
