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Mother of all jail breaks frees most wanted outlaws
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April 20, 2012
At least 385 prisoners escaped from central jail Bannu early Sunday morning after it was attacked by hundreds of militants armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades, a senior police official said.

The total number of prisoners present in the jail was 933, and out of them, only 13 did not flee. Some 22 inmates were on death row.

“There was an inmate named Adnan Rasheed, who was a dangerous prisoner. He was the mastermind in one of the attacks on Musharraf. These people came for him and took another 383 people too,” said the official.

Some of those who fled the jail in the town of Bannu were militants, an intelligence official said.

“We have freed hundreds of our comrades in Bannu in this attack. Several of our people have reached their destinations, others are on their way,” a Taliban spokesman said.

The claim could not be immediately verified.

Authorities claimed that 29 escaped prisoners had been recaptured by the police, adding that four policemen were also injured while resisting the escape.

“There was intense gunfire, and rocket-propelled grenades were also used.”

IG police Muhammad Akbar Khan Hoti visited the jail on Sunday, accompanied by Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and issued orders against alleged police negligence which led to escape of nearly 400 prisoners.

Sources said that over three hundred strong security men were posted in the central jail, which included 280 jail personnel and 21 policemen. Orders have been issued for further beefing up the security in order to meet any eventuality.

Peshawar central jail houses 800 convicts, while 1200 under trial prisoners have also been kept there, including some dangerous militants also.

According to Bannu Jail Superintendent, around 500 militants attacked the prison in the wee hours. Following the incident, heavy contingents of FC and police reached the site and blocked all the routes around the jail. The jail administration is reluctant to name the group behind the attack.

Talking to media, one prisoner who returned to the jail said that the attackers were armed with latest weapons and were riding 50 to 60 vehicles, adding that they were nearly 400 in number. He said the attackers sporting long hair were speaking Urdu with each other.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for raiding the jail. TTP spokesperson Asimullah Mehsud, speaking from an undisclosed location, claimed that they (TTP) attacked the jail with hundreds of fighters. “The purpose was to free some of our men”, he said, adding that “we attacked with 150 Fidaeen (suicide bombers) and took over the area for more than two hours.”

Four police officials who were injured in the attack were taken to the District Headquarter Hospital (DHQ). Another policeman on guard at the main gate of the police station said that dozens of the militants came in vehicles, while hundreds were on foot carrying Ak-47s and rocket launchers. “The gate was rooted out after one fired a rocket at it”, he explained. Residents of the area said militants had destroyed the boundary wall to aid in their escape.

A large number of militants had recently been moved to the jail from neighbouring Kohat and Lakki Marwat prisons, which are being converted into centres to rehabilitate former insurgents, the security official said.

A senior official of the Township Police station where the FIR of the incident was lodged says “some of them (escaped prisoners) are men that are most wanted’.

Explaining the category of the militants that managed to escape, the official said there were 20 men who were facing death sentences and are very dangerous.

Officials believe that the attackers’ main aim was to release Adnan Rashid, a former junior technician of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), allegedly involved in plotting murder attempt on former president Parvez Musharraf. Inspector General Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (IG), Akbar Khan Hoti, said the whole plan seemed to have been for the release of the top militant.

A police official from the central jail, on condition of anonymity, said that the militants entered the premises of the jail after firing hand grenades and rockets, and the only question they asked was “Where is Adnan?”

“They spoke different languages” he claimed, adding that “their attire was typical to the Taliban’s with boots, long hair and weapons.”

An investigation officer said English and Arabic jihadi literature was recovered from the cell where Adnan was kept, along with other important evidence. He refrained from giving further details.

Adnan Rashid joined PAF as a junior technician in 1997. Security officials apprehended him from Balochistan in 2004 in connection with a plot to assassinate Musharraf. Sources said that he was shifted from Kohat to Bannu Jail some eight months ago. Amongst the prisoners was one Aijaz, a militant who had previously managed to escape from the same jail. The names of the rest of the ‘most wanted’ could not be ascertained immediately.

Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik suspected the involvement of certain prison officials in the attack.

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Taliban Movement of Pakistan, is fighting to topple the U.S.-backed Islamabad government. Major suicide bombings have ceased in recent months, suggesting either security crackdowns have weakened the group, or it has changed tactics.

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