Jailbreak aftermath: DI Khan pulls itself together after three-day curfew

Government offices, schools, open; business activity resumes.

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Residents of DI Khan and Tank took a sigh of relief on Thursday after the three-day curfew imposed following the jailbreak was lifted.

The city was sealed after Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants sieged the central prison on July 29 and freed nearly 250 of their comrades, which included 49 high-profile militants.

The district administration lifted the curfew in both districts at 6am, following which normalcy returned. Government offices, schools, banks and other business activity resumed with people swarming the markets for Eid shopping.

Passengers who were stranded due to the curfew also started moving towards their destinations between DI Khan, Peshawar, Lahore and Quetta. Many en route to the tribal areas were stuck since they must pass through Tank and DI Khan to reach South Waziristan.

Ijaz Ahmad, a commuter heading to South Waziristan, said he can now go celebrate Eid with his family.

“In villages, there was not much effect of the curfew, but blocking the road link with DI Khan city was a hurdle,” said Abdullah Khan Mehsud, an internally displaced person from South Waziristan now settled in Pharpur tehsil.

Eidul Fitr is around the corner and people need to do their Eid shopping so they come to DI Khan for that, Mehsud said. “We had nothing to do with the prison break but our mobility was still restricted.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 2^nd, 2013.