Dacoits step up activities in wake of police action.

SUKKUR -- Gangs of outlaws and dacoits have apparently stepped up criminal activities in upper Sindh areas in the wake of an operation launched against them by police in Shikarpur, Sukkur, Ghotki and Kandhkot-Kashmore districts.

According to police officials, the dacoits have kidnapped seven people in different areas and robbed several passengers on highways over the past two days.

The officials said that a gang of outlaws blocked a section of Karachi-Peshawar Indus Highway near Napar Kot in Shikarpur district and robbed passengers of cash and valuables such as mobile phones, wrist watches and gold jewelry. They also took away a passenger Abdul Karim to their hideouts in riverine area, said the officials, adding police had cordoned off the area and mounted a search for the hostage.

Later, relatives of the hostage blocked the highway in protest against police's failure to protect the passengers and demanded immediate recovery of their loved...