Tunnelling terrorists

Terrorists’ bid to tunnel into Karachi jail shows they are still able to plan and mount complex operations in Karachi

There have been several spectacularly successful jailbreaks in recent years in which terrorist groups were able to assault the prisons their colleagues were held in and release them in considerable numbers. Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan prisons were raided in 2012 and 2013, and on both occasions, there were strong suspicions that there was ‘insider’ help for the raiders. Now a success for the security agencies — a tunnel being constructed from a point outside the walls of the Karachi Central Jail towards a dry well inside the jail has been detected just 10 metres short of its target. The 45-metre tunnel would have taken months to construct and it led from a house that is allegedly owned by a policeman (this has been denied by the police), and where local residents are reported to have said that they had seen dirt being taken away from the house regularly.



Reading between the lines of various reports, it is possible to see that this was a collaborative effort between various banned groups, with the likely goal, the release of some or all of the 100-plus prisoners also from banned organisations who were housed near the dry well that is presumed to be the exit point for the raiders. It may further be concluded that terrorist groups are still able to plan and mount complex operations in Karachi, which require logistical coordination and significant financing. It may also be that, as on previous occasions, the raiders had inside help and/or a blind eye being turned by the police whose job it is to guard the prison perimeter.

It is indeed fortunate that this audacious attempt at a jailbreak was avoided. It is indicative of the importance of constant vigilance as the terrorists will identify and exploit any chink in the armour of those they battle. As has been demonstrated in the past — most recently in the raid on a Pakistan Navy vessel — terrorist groups are adept at ‘turning’ members of the law-enforcement agencies and security personnel, and using them to their own ends. The security services struck lucky this time — and may they do so in the future as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2014.

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