‘Terrorist nurseries’: Jails breeding ‘militants’

Proposal on the anvil to have specific jails in each province for terror suspects.

ISLAMABAD: Eradicating what are euphemistically called ‘terrorists nurseries’ from Pakistan’s prisons is one of the serious issues faced by the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, a top official told The Express Tribune. Simultaneously, they are also faced with another challenge: ensuring regular trial of suspected militants in prisons and denying them access to cellphones, he added. The official spoke candidly on the issue after getting assurance that he would not be named in the report.

The authorities, including Pakistan Army’s counter-terror officials, are thinking over a proposal to have a specific jail in each province for suspected terrorists and militants, the official said.

Counter-terror experts believe different prisons have turned into terrorists nurseries. They say that most prisons are overcrowded, making it almost impossible for the authorities to arrange separate cells for the prisoners charged with militancy and terrorism. And such conditions are conducive for hardcore terrorists to recruit young inmates for their networks.

Most indigent and destitute inmates become an easy target of the militants who lure them with promises of monetary benefits for their families.

After their release, these young recruits are received by activists of militant outfits with their people in jails. It’s not a problem for jailed militants to contact their colleagues outside as cellphones are easily available in jails - courtesy corrupt jailers.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government and Pakistan Army officials, tackling terrorism and militancy, are reportedly working to resolve these issues.

Thousands of militants rounded up during the military operations in Malakand division and tribal regions have been awaiting trial for the past several months. The situation in jails in Karachi and Balochistan is no different.

Corruption is rampant in jails and this makes the task of the law-enforcement and intelligence agencies, tasked with helping the prosecution of the jailed militants, even more difficult. “The intelligence agencies have intercepted telephone calls made from the jails by the militants,” the unnamed official told The Express Tribune. Most of the calls intercepted during the past few months were made from a jail in Taimargarah, Dir, which housed over 300 suspected militants.

Jail authorities in Peshawar have admitted that some of their lower staffers were caught supplying cellphones to militants. And the inspector-general (IG) of police (prisons) in Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa had transferred a few of these jail staffers after conducting an inquiry. But the Army is not satisfied with such “half-hearted” steps by the jail authorities.

Officials in Peshawar turned down a proposal by the IG prison for a joint raid by police and jail authorities in the prisons to recover cellphones. They were of the view that such a raid would be of no use unless measures were taken to ensure that the inmates did not get cellphones again. Another proposal to install cellphone jammers in all prisons of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa could not materialise for lack of resources, an official in the finance department told The Express Tribune requesting anonymity. Protection of judges of anti-terrorism courts and witnesses against possible attacks is another serious issue for the government.

According to media reports, some hardcore militants were exonerated by the courts in Lahore and Karachi last year after the judges and witnesses received threatening calls from their associates.

The judges, however, put blame on police and its prosecution department for producing insufficient evidence against the terrorists on trial. But police considered the exoneration as lack of courage on the part of judges. Aslam Tareen, the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) in Lahore, told The Express Tribune that the judges were responsible for the acquittal of a number of terrorists, last year. He disagreed that police had failed to substantiate charges.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 22^nd, 2011.