Saulat Mirza, Arshad Pappu among inmates transferred from Karachi jail

IGP wanted to make it difficult for them to operate networks from behind bars.

KARACHI:

Political activist Saulat Mirza, charged with the murder of a former managing director of the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), and Lyari’s top gangster Arshad Pappu have been shifted to different prisons outside Karachi.

They were among the 23 prisoners who were moved this weekend. Inspector General of Prisons Ghulam Qadir Thebu confirmed this to The Express Tribune but said that no single reason was behind the decision. They wanted to avoid overcrowding, clashes and attacks on jail staff and grouping inmates according to political ties, among other reasons. “Actually, there were some intelligence reports as well that these prisoners were working their networks from this jail,” the IG said. “These kinds of accusations were ruining the image of the jail, which is why we’ve decided to shift them.”

Saulat Mirza was arrested after his arrival from Bangkok at the Karachi airport in December 1998. He was charged with several murders, including that of two US diplomats, four American oil company workers and KESC MD Shahid Hamid. He was imprisoned in Karachi Central Jail but was transferred to Central Jail, Hyderabad on Saturday.

Sources told The Express Tribune that Lyari’s top gangster Arshad Pappu was moved to Central Jail Balochistan on Sunday. He was imprisoned in District Jail, Malir in Karachi. Arshad, alias Pappu, one of the most wanted criminals in Karachi and an alleged ringleader involved in the Lyari gang war, was arrested along with another alleged gangster, Imran Buksh, in October 2006. He was arrested by the police from Nayabad in Lyari.

Sources said that the prisoners are said to be affiliated with various political organisations. Also on the list of inmates to be shifted were the names of Nadir Shah and Afaq Ahmed. Nadir Shah was arrested in Liaquatabad in early 2000.

It was reported that Ajmal Pahari, allegedly involved in the killing of over one hundred people, was released, The Express Tribune learnt on Sunday. Pahari was arrested by the Anti-Extremism Cell from New Karachi in March. AEC chief SSP Chaudhry denied that he had been released. The IG Prisons said he had no confirmation about Pahari being released.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2011.