Daku Raj Goes Digital

Diary of a young lawyer...
2 min readAug 8, 2023

--

The term daku raj has long been familiar to the people of Sindh, dating back to the Zia ul Haq era or even earlier. However, in recent years, these bandits have taken their activities to social media platforms like Facebook and Tiktok, gaining thousands of followers and achieving significant views and shares on their videos.

The recent Seema Haider saga has become a sensation in the media and on social media platforms. Of particular concern is the alarming increase in videos featuring bandits who are making explicit threats against the Hindu community in Sindh, based on this Seema Haider issue.

Around a week ago, a video posted by a bandit regarding the Seema issue has gained staggering attention, accumulating 350,000 views within just 4 hours. This video has been widely shared by multiple accounts and local news pages, greatly expanding its reach and impact. It clearly demonstrates the bandits strong influence, acceptance, and fan following.

As I write this, there is a clash going on between two communities in my city, Pano Aqil. During broad daylight, hundreds of people with modern weapons attacked a village. Tragically, two people lost their lives, and several others were injured. The attackers also abducted two
women, but fortunately, they were later released with the help of tribal negotiations.

What's deeply concerning is that these bandits are openly embracing social media, sharing videos of their actions and gaining likes, shares, and views. Its distressing to see how their acts of terror are spreading from the forests to the online world, becoming worryingly normal.

In the troubled region of Katcho, authorities have continuously struggled to tackle the issue of banditry for decades. Despite numerous attempts and grand strategies, their efforts have consistently failed. Adding to the concern, these bandits have now expanded their presence to
social media platforms, reaching beyond the forests of Katcho.

It is not out of place to mention here that, Pakistan is one of the countries that possess advanced surveillance technology, worth more than $18.5 million. This web monitoring system is frequently used to trace social activists, political workers, and even individuals behind anonymous social media accounts.

However, authorities in Pakistan are puzzlingly not taking action against criminals who openly share videos of their illegal activities using their real names and pictures. The question arises: if they cannot be stopped physically, can they not be stopped online?

Is it too much to ask for?

Its high time for the authorities to catch and bring the “Gangs of Ghouspur and 49 other areas” to justice using a strong and effective plan.

--

--

Diary of a young lawyer...

I'm Abdul Qadeer, Lawyer by day and a writer by night. My talent is words. I am an aspiring writer with a huge passion for writing and researching.