SHIKARPUR: Former Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Sardar Mir Ghalib Khan Domki, along with his wife and grandson, was injured in a targeted attack carried out by a heavily armed gang near Rustam town of Shikarpur district along the National Highway on Sunday evening.
The victims, who suffered injuries from flying glass shards during the gunfire, were promptly taken to a nearby hospital, where their condition was reported to be stable. Initial medical examinations confirmed that they did not sustain gunshot wounds.
The attack also claimed the lives of two of Sardar Domki’s bodyguards, Salar and Mehar, while another, identified as Murad Khan Domki, sustained critical injuries and is currently fighting for his life.
According to police and onlookers, the attack unfolded when Sardar Domki, accompanied by his wife and grandson, was traveling in a Vigo vehicle from Sukkur to Bakhshapur town in Kandhkot-Kashmore district. As their vehicle passed through Rustam town, the attackers positioned themselves along the roadside and signaled the driver to stop. The driver, sensing an imminent threat, accelerated the vehicle. In response, the assailants opened fire on the vehicle.
The bodyguards, who were traveling in a vehicle behind the Vigo, swiftly retaliated, leading to a gun battle. Three of the attackers were killed in the ensuing exchange of gunfire. However, two of Sardar Domki’s bodyguards were killed in the confrontation.
The attackers, identified by locals as members of a notorious dacoit gang, fled the scene after the shootout, reportedly taking the bodies of their fallen gang members and the wounded with them. Witnesses claimed the gangsters escaped in several vehicles towards the riverine area of Shikarpur.
Local sources and police officers have suggested that the assailants were part of a well-known dacoit gang, with Mir Nadir Mirani, the gang’s alleged ringleader, reportedly among the dead. However, these claims have yet to be independently verified.
Law enforcement agencies swiftly responded to the attack, deploying a large contingent of officers from various police stations to secure the area. Police also began a search operation in the riverine region, believed to be the gang’s hideout, in a bid to capture the remaining assailants.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon have both taken notice of the incident. The CM and IGP have instructed Shikarpur’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shahzeb Chachar to provide a detailed report on the attack and its aftermath.
Sardar Mir Ghalib Khan Domki, a prominent political figure from the region, has had a long association with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). However, in the 2018 general elections, he contested a Sindh Assembly seat on a Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) ticket but was unsuccessful.
