Pakistan: Encounter between security forces and extremists over illegal gold mining, 28 including 10 policemen killed, what is the matter?

A police team returning from an operation against illegal gold mining was attacked in Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan on Wednesday.

At least 10 security personnel were killed in this attack, while 18 extremists were killed. Kohat Police spokesperson Noman Zeb told BBC Urdu that DSP rank officer Haider Zaman was also among those killed.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police said in a statement that the policemen were conducting a joint operation with the local administration in Darabukach area near Kohat city.

According to the statement, "When the police team was returning after completing the operation, at the behest of criminal elements, Fitna-al-Khwariz attacked the police team."

The statement said, "The policemen fought the attackers bravely. After this, 18 Khawarij were sent to hell."

According to Dr. Tahir, MS of Kohat Hospital, after the incident, bodies of 10 policemen and 10 injured have been brought to his hospital.

Two of them were seriously injured and have been referred to Peshawar. Eight injured people are undergoing treatment at Kohat Hospital.

Who were the extremists?

The Pakistani government uses the term Fitna-al-Khawarij for extremists associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban.

According to the statement, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and local civil administration had launched an operation against people involved in illegal gold mining in Darabu Kach. The statement said that this incident has also exposed the alleged nexus between criminal elements and Fitnah-al-Khawarij.

Police spokesperson Muhammad Nauman Zeb said that five police vehicles were also set on fire during the attack. Jeb said that the attackers fired continuously at the policemen.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi expressed grief over the death of policemen and sought a detailed report.

According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, the security situation in Pakistan remained highly volatile between 30 October and 5 November.

During this period, extremist activities increased again in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal districts. Along with this, operations against them also intensified.

Governor's rule and emergency are in force in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since October 11. Pakistan's central government had taken this step after it accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of 'deliberately distancing itself from the fight against terrorism'.

It is common to see people sifting sand and extracting gold along the Indus River in the northern areas of Pakistan. Many machines are seen engaged in the work of extracting gold in this entire area. However, the Pakistan government has declared this mining illegal.

According to the local people, Darabukch, located between Khushalgarh and Shakardara, is a long strip spread along the banks of the Indus River and gold is discovered on the banks of the river in this area.

Local people said that there have been previous clashes between local groups in the area over the issue of gold being found on the banks of the river, while the police have also raided these places several times.

The approximately 3,180 km long Indus River originates from Mansarovar Lake in Tibet and irrigates the plains of Pakistan and falls into the Arabian Sea.

And for some people this river literally spits out gold and their livelihood is linked to it.

Why is gold found in the river?

According to Dr. Faridullah, Head of the Environment Department of Comset's University, Abbottabad Campus, gold is naturally present in the soil and sand found on the banks of the Indus River.

According to him, gold generally comes from metal deposits present inside the mountains. Gold particles present in the mountains and small particles from the mines come out in many ways and get included in the rivers and water flow.

And when rain or glacier water flows down from the mountains, this water carries away small particles of gold along with mountain rocks and soil and brings it into the river.

During the flow of the river, such particles, being heavy, settle down and get deposited in the sand and soil on the banks of the river. This is the reason why small particles of gold are found in the sand and soil of the Indus River.

For the past few years, the Punjab government and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government have been taking action against those looking for gold or using machinery on the Indus River.

According to government records, more than 100 cases have been registered against such illegal gold mining in the last two years.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has banned gold exploration and mining without permission on the banks of the Indus River and Kabul River and has also imposed Section 144.

This ban has been imposed in Swabi, Nowshera, Kohat and other related areas to deal with the problems of illegal mining, environmental damage and law and order.

Along with this, the local administration has also been given powers to confiscate illegal machinery and equipment.

What is the traditional method of extracting gold?

Sand, gravel and stones are collected from the river bank and washed in water with the help of plates (pans), filtering nets, tubs and small shovels.

In this way the light soil is washed away and the heavy but fine particles of gold remain at the bottom. He said that this process causes less harm to the environment.

Dr. Faridullah says that it is said that the common method of extracting gold on the banks of Indus River and its tributaries in Gilgit-Baltistan is centuries old.

Now the same work is being done through machines and for this, heavy machinery like digging machines (excavators), water pumps and industrial filtering machines are used.

With these, more gold can be obtained by cleaning large amounts of sand and soil in less time.

Earlier, maximum of one gram of gold was available, now five to six grams of gold is available.

However, due to installation of heavy machines, the problem of pollution and river erosion in the area has also increased.