Daily Times

Two under trial prisoners (UTP) named Shaikh Muhammad Mumtaz and Mohammad Ahmed Khan, facing multiple criminal cases and affiliated with Lashkar-e-Jangvi, a defunct sectarian outfit, have recently escaped from Central Prison Karachi (CPK).

The UTPs were associated with Naeem Bukhari faction of LeJ. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) prison, in a letter addressed to SHO New Town police station , asked for registration of a first information report (FIR) of the incident.

Meanwhile 12 prison officials including Jail Superintendent Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh have been suspended and taken into custody to face criminal charges. As per Mr. Nusrat Mangan, Sindh Inspector General Prisons, initial investigation suggests that the terror suspects managed to escape from the judicial complex – annexe to central prison, by cutting iron bars of the cell holding them.

Raja Umer Khattab, an official of the Counter Terrorism Department, said that the two men were hardcore sectarian militants who were arrested in 2013 in multiple murder cases. According to Khattab, Shaikh Mumtaz was involved in targeted killing of 57 people including members of Shia community and police personnel, whereas Mohammad Ahmed Khan was facing 32 charges.

This is not the first instance of a prison break in the country. In fact in 1983, 50 armed members of a gang of outlaws had attacked the central prison of Sukkur and gotten away with 35 death row prisoners. The attackers faced little resistance from the prison police. Other jail break in the recent history of country took place in April 2013 when around 200 heavily armed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants stormed the central prison of Bannu using automatic weapons, hand grenades, rocket launchers and improvised explosive devices. More than 300 prisoners were freed including hardcore TTP militants.

In view of the recent prison break in Central Prison Karachi, an evaluation of security mechanisms at other prisons in the country is needed so that loopholes, if any, are properly plugged

Earlier in October 2014, a serious attempt to break CPK was foiled by Rangers when a tunnel was discovered which was being dug outside the prison boundary wall from Ghousia Colony side to connect with a barrack inside the jail where some militants belonging to defunct organisations were being lodged. Prisons across the country are by and large overcrowded and are located inside city centres facing multiple security issues. Of the 25 jails in Sindh, CPK is the most overcrowded. Built in 1899, it is the second oldest facility after Hyderabad central jail with a capacity to keep 2,400 inmates, but it is housing over 6,000 prisoners.

Though it is too early to conclusively develop an opinion about the latest prison break, yet there are serious concerns about complicity of prison staff. CPK has proper boundary wall with security wires affixed on top of it. Besides, a single gate is being used for exit and entry purposes. Being a high security jail, CCTV cameras must be installed to monitor activities inside and in the outskirt of the jail.

How the prisoners managed to get the cutters inside the jail and cut the steel bars facilitating themselves to escape is a question that needs thorough investigation. Investigators should begin by asking the most relevant question in the matter: why were these hard core prisoners lodged in the judicial complex of the jail which is simply an annexe to main premises.

Apart from that, a study is required to be carried out to see if some insiders were involved in aiding the prisoners to escape. It could be monetary temptations that might have worked for them or some jail officials who shared their ideology might have been complicit.

Maybe it is the sheer dereliction of duty on part of jail officials. These angles are important to be explored and evaluated.                On the other hand, there is no emphasis on maintaining jails security as per modern theories which require biometric identification, electronic surveillance and maintaining proper record of prisoners’ activities. Professional training to prison police that includes physical exercise, weapon handling, and learning about criminal psychology to understand prisoners’ behaviour is also missing. No effort has yet been made to keep prisoners under study to see whether any anomalous tendency is growing in them or psychological and behavioural changes are exhibited. There is need to recruit professional psychologists for this purposes.

Besides, the prisoners’ segregation in view of their criminal background is a must. Those visiting inmates should follow certain procedures that include their proper registration, physical search and documentation of their relation to the inmate. Prison management and the handling of criminals with different criminal background is a professional craft which needs to be taken as such. Corruption in jail officials spoils the true spirit of running the prisons. Subsequently, inmates expected to improve and return to normal life unfortunately further relapse. The modern concept of prisons is that of a facility to reform the criminally-diseased individuals. But jails in Pakistan only cause further sharpening of criminal tendencies. Professional approach in prison management is almost missing. In view of this escape incident, there is need for evaluation of security mechanism at other prisons so that loopholes, if any, are properly plugged and recurrence of such incidents is averted. Otherwise such happenings would be a disservice to the endeavour of LEAs that nab hardened criminals after much hard work. Sindh government, already mired in the muddle of inefficiency, must take the incident to its logical end by taking punitive action against prison officials found guilty.

The writer is freelance contributor. He blogs at https://malibaloch.wordpress.com/ and can be reached on twitter @M_Abaloch