Bureau Report

LAYYAH: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday vowed action against dacoits in Dera Ghazi Khan, after a video of three kidnapped people went viral on social media, two of whom were brutally murdered on tape.

Addressing a launch ceremony in Layyah of the Insaf Sehat Sahulat Card, he said he was saddened to see poor people being killed in this barbaric manner.

He said the Rangers have been given instructions to bring the perpetrators to book and provide all possible assistance to the police.

“Now these dacoits will not be spared. No one will be allowed to pester area residents any longer,” he promised, adding that if needed a police checkpost will be established in the area.

The Ladi gang had abducted three people from the Taman Khosa area. A video that went viral yesterday showed one being shot dead, while the limbs of the other were chopped off before he was killed by the ring leader, known as Khuda Baksh.

All the while, his partner was filming the horrific events.

The Ladi gang leader said in the video that he had “killed the murderers of his companion Haroon”.

Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar also noted with grave concern reports of the incident and ordered immediate action against the gang.

According to Hamza Salik, political assistant of DG Khan’s tribal area, the Ladi gang members are hiding in the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain range.

He said the border forces, with the help of Rangers and Punjab police, will “wipe out the gang”.

Speaking about the sehat cards, the prime minister said provision of health cards to the citizens would ensure complete and free of cost health coverage, which prior to this was unimaginable in the country’s history.

He said now with the extension of health card facility to every family of the Punjab province, the poor people would no longer have to worry about medical treatment.

He said every family in the Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions could now avail health treatment worth Rs720,000. They are free to get health facilities in public and private hospitals alike.

An additional Rs300,000 can be given to the deserving families when required, he added.

The prime minister also underlined the need to encourage the private sector to fully participate in health initiatives.

He observed that the government-owned lands could be offered to the private sector at affordable prices for the construction of hospitals and other health facilities, especially in the far flung areas of the country.