Report recommends transfer of prisons IG

Official inquiry into CTD DSP’s ‘improper’ investigation yields surprising results

KARACHI: The tussle between the Sindh police and Central Jail, Karachi administration escalated after the police's senior officer, in his inquiry report, reportedly held the prisons inspector-general responsible for the recent jailbreak and suggested his transfer. The jails minister and prisons IG have rejected the report, terming it a conspiracy against the department.

Sindh’s Crime Branch Additional IG Aftab Pathan submitted a report to the home sectary after he was asked by the Inspector-General of Police Allah Dino Khawaja to conduct an inquiry following the recent jailbreak.

The jail administration said that the IG assigned the inquiry against Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) DSP Zahid Ali to AIG Pathan. DSP Ali was investigating the 12 jail officials and personnel who were arrested in connection with the jailbreak and had obtained bail.



"We objected to the CTD DSP investigation officer for conducting improper investigations, helping the jail police officials and personnel obtaining bail, as these officials and personnel were responsible [for the incident]," explained Jails Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar. "Despite my objections, the Sindh IG assigned Aftab Pathan to conduct an inquiry against the DSP but, interestingly, Pathan prepared his report against the prisons IG and held him responsible for the jailbreak, recommending his transfer instead of conducting an inquiry against the DSP," he told The Express Tribune.

In the report, the prisons IG has been assigned responsibility for the jailbreak and the inquiry officer has also recommended his transfer, which has been rejected by the prisons IG. "Women in Karachi are being stabbed, so what does this mean? Should the Sindh IG be punished or transferred for this?" questioned Prisons IG Nusrat Mangan. "Of course the Sindh IG is not responsible for this. Inspecting and supervisory officers are responsible, as are the immediate bosses responsible for any incident like our 12 jail officers and personnel are," he said.

"It seems that it has become a personal matter. Two police officials of the Sindh police are hatching a conspiracy to replace me as they are not able to become a Sindh police chief," accused IG Mangan. "Pathan's report, in which he suggested that the prisons IG be a [Police Service of Pakistan officer] has cleared all my doubts," he said.



Talking about the inquiry report, IG Mangan said that Pathan does not have the mandate to conduct an inquiry against him. "He was asked to inquire about the DSP but he conducted inquiry against me. The chief minister and chief secretary are the authority to conduct an inquiry against me," he explained. Meanwhile, Pathan was unavailable for comments.

The report has been submitted to Provincial Home Sectary Qazi Shahid Pervez and will be sent to the home minister in a couple of days. "This report is confidential and I cannot share it. The home minister is the authority and it is up to him what he will decide," said Pervez. "The report will be submitted to the home minister in a day or two."

The tussle between the jail administration and Sindh police or the CTD has been escalating day by day. Earlier, the jail administration had raised concerns against the CTD, claiming that their police were lodging fake cases against the jail administration. They wrote a letter to the Sindh IG to intervene in the matter, requesting him to cancel the FIRs or transfer their inquiries from the CTD to another department.



The jail administration remained on the radar and a number of cases have been registered against them since two militants of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi escaped from Central Jail, Karachi. Jail officials said that the issue turned aggressive when the jail administration recently stopped the CTD police from conducting an operation inside the jail.

Earlier, the provincial government was going to make an amendment, enabling the appointment of a cadre police officer instead of a non-cadre officer for the post of the prisons IG, however, it has remained pending.