“The bandits attacked the vehicles with rocket launchers after one of the vehicles in the convoy broke down,” the Punjab Inspector General’s office said. “At least nine police personnel were martyred in the attack, while several others were injured,” it added.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered “immediate action” against the attackers, his office said in a statement.
For decades, organised criminal gangs have been active in the riverine border areas of Sindh and Punjab provinces, where they have engaged in kidnappings for ransom.
The army launched a major operation against them in Sindh in the early 1990s, but they resurfaced after successive governments failed to maintain law and order in the province.
Another attack occurred Thursday in Pakistan, this time in the Punjab region (east). Gunmen opened fire on a bus that was carrying children to a school in Attock in the morning. Two girls were killed and five other children were injured. The victims are between 5 and 10 years old. The attack has not been claimed.
