Prison break

The details surrounding the escape of two militants being held in Karachi’s Central Jail point to it being an inside job. The militants – who were target killers for the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and believed to be responsible for the murder of over 60 people – were able to flee with ease from a judicial complex next to the jail. One of them, Sheikh Muhammad, was even able to leisurely shave off his beard with a shaving kit that was apparently waiting for him in the bathroom. The other militant, Ahmed Khan Arif Manako, was not even supposed to be in court at the time, raising the possibility that this escape was planned with help from the inside. A sweep of the jail found that many prisoners possessed contraband, including drugs. This would point to the possibility of jail personnel either working with prisoners or scared of them enough to turn a blind eye. The sweep also found that locks were missing at four entry and exit points in the jail.  There is certainly reason to be fearful of the LeJ. Among other attacks in Sindh, it was responsible for the PNS Mehran attack, the airport attack and the kidnapping and murder of Daniel Pearl. Militants in the past have tried to dig an underground tunnel reaching Central Jail and would certainly not be above threatening or bribing guards.

The other equally frightening possibility is that ideological sympathy with the militants led to the security lapse. We have seen that in the cases of Omar Sheikh and Mumtaz Qadri. Either way, apart from recovering the two escapees, the authorities will have to ensure they can trust those who are responsible for guarding the most dangerous men in the country. After an initial Counter Terrorism Department report, 12 police officers – including the jail superintendent and his deputy – have been suspended. But there is a tendency to announce such actions before quietly dropping the case a few months later. That should not be allowed to happen this time. It is not as if the authorities did not know there was a possibility that militants would try to escape. In February, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had ordered that anti-terrorism courts be shifted from Clifton to the premises of Central Jail because prisoners might try to escape en route. The LeJ is one of the most dangerous sectarian militant outfits in the country and the thought that its militants can manage to walk out of jail so freely – even with possible assistance – only makes it all the more menacing.