RAHIM YAR KHAN: Shabbir Lathani, the ringleader of Lathani Gang in Katcha area has offered negotiations to police if “fake encounters” are stopped.
According to media reports, Shabbir Lathani in a fresh video message uploaded on social media rejected the claims that there were terrorists, dacoits and “enemies of the country” in the Katcha area, He added poverty and tribal feuds were the actual issues plaguing the area and could be resolved through mediation.
He said he and other members of his gang belonged to the Mazari tribe and their clan was led by their elder Nawab Sukhani. He said all the cases registered against him and Qabil Sukhani were the result of internal tribal conflicts. He accused that many “false” FIRs had been registered against him and his brother Mira Lathani.
He said that in 2016 when the operation was initiated against Choutoo Gang, they were in Sindh and had met with officers of police and intelligence agencies at Dera Morr, along with Sardar Sakhi Sultan Shar. He claimed that in the meeting they had offered to surrender on the condition of withdrawal of cases and mediation to end the tribal feuds.
Shabbir Lathani, in the message, denied there were any militants in the Kacha area belonging to the banned Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or nay other terrorist group, as being claimed by police.
He appealed to tribal leader and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf formed MNA, Sardar Riaz Mehmood Khan Mazari, son of Sarda Balakh Sher Mazari, to not to portray the “unrest” in the Kacha area as a law-and-order issue.
He said there was crime in the Kacha area due to poverty, hunger and tribal quarrels and that mediation between tribal people could help solve the problem and restore peace there.
He said peace could be restored in the area through provision of electricity and construction of schools and roads, regretting that ex-MNA Riaz Mazari never demanded a school for the area despite being a parliamentarian.
