Apprehended: Eight suspects arrested during search operation

Operation carried out on the outskirts of DI Khan to apprehend jailbreak prisoners.

DI KHAN:

Security forces arrested eight suspects during a search operation in Rana Zai Jahani and Jahan Khani areas of Kulachi tehsil early Saturday morning.

A Kulachi police official said security forces along with the police and elite commandos conducted door-to-door operations. A partial curfew was imposed in the area and all routes leading to it were closed, he added.

Eight suspects were arrested and weapons were recovered from their possession, following which they were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation, said the police official. The operation was carried out based on information stating escaped prisoners from the DI Khan jailbreak on July 29 were hiding in the area.

The names of those arrested could not be ascertained and it cannot yet be confirmed whether they are indeed prisoners from the jailbreak. Security forces had earlier conducted a search operation in areas of Kulachi stated to be havens used by militants involved in attacking the prison.

On August 10, the government ended the 2009 peace deal with the Kulachi tribe after investigative reports revealed the Kulachi route was used by militants to escape following the attack. According to government officials, the peace deal barred Kulachi tribes from sheltering or providing safe passage to militants.

On August 5, Punjabi Taliban’s Mujahid Ahmad aka Faqir Baba revealed during interrogation that the jailbreak was planned in Toi Khulla area of Wana, South Waziristan on July 10. The Punjabi Taliban are an affiliate of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Mujahid was arrested from the DI Khan District Headquarters (DHQ) and Teaching Hospital after being injured during the jailbreak.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2013.