World Sindhi Congress condemns barbaric killing of civilians by Pak Rangers, police

Sindh [Pakistan], September 29 : The World Sindhi Congress has strongly condemned the killing of eight civilians, including men and women, in a joint operation conducted by law enforcers in Mari village of Sakrand, a town in the Sindh province of Pakistan.
World Sindhi Congress (WSC), a human rights organisation, has also called this act of law enforcers an act of “fascists and ethnic cleansing of Sindhi people.”

However, Pak security officials said that a number of “miscreants” were killed while at least nine people, including Rangers personnel, were injured in the operation conducted in the Sakrand village located in Sindh’s Benazirabad Taluka on Thursday, Dawn reported on Thursday.
“Today, Rangers and police, violating the sanctity of life, indiscriminately fired upon innocent civilians in their homes in the Mari village of Sakrand, resulting in the death of eight men and women and 10 more who are injured and hospitalised. WSC considers this act to be fascist and ethnic cleansing of Sindhi people,” posted WSC on social media platform, X.
The WSC has also requested Sindhi nation, political parties in Pakistan, and human rights organisations to raise voices against this “barbarism” at international platforms.
“WSC strongly condemns this heinous crime and demands that the perpetrators be immediately brought to justice. WSC requests the entire Sindhi nation, all parties, and human rights organizations to rise against this extreme brutality to get justice. WSC is together in the grief of the families and the entire Sindhi nation. WSC will raise its voice against this barbarism at all relevant international fora,” the post added.
Amid the ongoing turmoil, the Caretaker Home Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Harris Nawaz, has asserted that four members of the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) sustained injuries during an incident that occurred in the Maari Khan Jalbani Village of Sakrand taluka, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to the interim home minister, a joint police and Rangers operation was carried out in the village based on information regarding the presence of a terrorist. However, they encountered resistance from the villagers, leading to a clash. Contrary to this account, local residents have a different perspective, claiming that the LEAs sought to raid the home of an elderly political worker named Rajab Jalbani, which triggered the confrontation.

According to reports from Sindhi media, as cited by The Express Tribune, LEA personnel attempted to enter homes without a warrant or prior warning. In response, the locals tried to talk with them and requested the presentation of any necessary documents, however, this escalated, and the LEA personnel opened fire.
Separately, the Sindh United Party accused the Pakistan Peoples Party of deploying the police to intimidate their supporters in a village that had consistently supported the SUP as elections approached. Party leader Syed Zainul Abidin Shah secured the second-highest number of votes against the PPP candidate Ghulam Qadir Chandio in the 2013 and 2018 general elections.

The Benazirabad Senior Superintendent of Police, Syed Haider Raza, informed the local media that the district police were unaware of the raid conducted by the Counter Terrorism Department and the Rangers. He stated that when the police arrived in the village, residents began pelting stones, leading to the withdrawal of the police forces.
In the aftermath of the incident, the local community staged a sit-in protest, blocking the National Highway in Sakrand. They arrived at the protest carrying the bodies of the victims in loader rickshaws. Their primary demand was the arrest and lawful punishment of the individuals from the CTD and Rangers who were involved in the violent raid. As of now, an FIR for the incident has not yet been filed.

A resident of the area, speaking to the media from the hospital, provided details about the incident. According to his account, the village was subjected to a raid by five Rangers vehicles and four to five police mobile units. The individuals who tragically lost their lives have been identified as Akan Allahdad Jalbani (32 years old), Nehal Jalbani (30 years old), Nizamuddin Jalbani (25 years old), and Sajawak Ali Jalbani (30 years old), The Tribune Express reported.
The injured individuals were transferred from the Sakrand taluka hospital to the Peoples Medical College Hospital in Nawabshah.