There could not be a stronger manifestation of the broken police system than swirling reports of a sprawling gang of armed dacoits storming a police station and holding five law enforcement officers hostage. Despite countless initiatives, government after government has failed to reclaim law and order in the riverine katcha area in southern Punjab and upper Sindh. Modern civilisation has yet to reach these lands where the iron-clad grip of the bandits continues. It may be one thing to kidnap people for ransom but to whisk away armed police officers from the sanctity of their strongholds as retaliation for the arrest of wanted criminals only belongs in action sequences of Bollywood flicks. The challenging terrain of the katcha areas plays a big part in the shameful failure of these crackdown activities, the latest of which involved Rangers and even the military on the direction of the Sindh Apex Committee. Still, the fact that these criminals enjoy the impunity to flaunt their weapons and notoriety on social media platforms is nothing short of a good old squeeze of lemon on the wounds of the state machinery. Since joint offensives and the use of violence have not yet yielded any lasting results, it would be worthwhile to focus on the underlying conditions. There’s no denying the shambolic conditions on the ground that force local people to pick up arms or join ruffian gangs because there are no other means of earning livelihoods. The use of force alone would not banish the menace unless abject poverty is addressed. The provincial governments must pay special attention to a socio-economic revolution so that education and renewed opportunities for a better life can help spell an end to lawlessness. For now, it can only be hoped that while those making a mockery of the writ of the state are brought to justice, comprehensive reforms are also considered by the ruling elite. The gang-riddled border areas *