Jailed militants plotting crimes from their ‘cells’
Sindh home dept asks permission to launch operation against inmates in Hyderabad jail involved in militant activities.
KARACHI:
The Sindh home department has written a letter to the district and sessions judge of Hyderabad to ask for permission to launch an operation against inmates in the Hyderabad jail who are involved in militant activities.
The decision comes after a report by intelligence agencies stated that there is a strong network of militant organisations working in the jail.
Sources in the home department told The Express Tribune that members of banned militant organisations jailed in Hyderabad are continuously in contact with their networks and are giving instructions on how and when to carry out terrorist attacks and other crimes such as robberies and kidnappings for ransom in the big cities of Pakistan.
“We have told the jail administration to devise a strategy for an operation against them,” sources said.
Even though prisoners are not allowed to use mobile phones, satellite phones are a major means of communicating with their organisations.
The Hyderabad jail administration has expressed its reservations over carrying out an operation by itself, sources said.
“We need extra forces to help us conduct a successful operation because its too difficult to do it on our own,” the administration admitted.
Talking to The Express Tribune, the jails minister, Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra, said that according to the jail manual, the administration is supposed to carry out an operation to confiscate illegal materials being used by the inmates after every 15 to 20 days. This coming operation is part of that regular schedule.
“I cannot comment on the intelligence report but [I can tell you that] we have separated militants from the rest of the prisoners in all jails,” he said.
The minister said they had conducted search operations in around 21 jails of the province. The only jails left are those in Larkana and Hyderabad, which too shall be tackled soon, added Shujra.
The actual capacity of the 23 jails in Sindh is around 9,540. However, more than 18,000 inmates are sharing the space meant for almost half their number. Out of these, 15,000 are prisoners facing trial, which means that they have not been convicted of a crime yet.
Hyderabad jail is supposed to house 500 prisoners but the number of men jailed here is 1,200.
When asked about mobile jammers, which were to be installed earlier this year in almost all the jails to counter prisoners masterminding crimes from inside their cells, the minister replied that due to floods the project has been delayed. “We have now asked the finance department to give us the required money so that we can set up jammers in at least all central jails,” he said.
“There is no doubt that criminals are able to strengthen and continue their networks from behind bars but now we can block their communication through this new technology,” he said.
However, the minister’s optimism comes a bit too soon. The last time an operation was launched to put up mobile jammers in the central jails of Larkana and Hyderabad, thousands of inmates lashed out against the decision.
A two-week protest by the prisoners forced the jail authorities to postpone their plan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2010.
The Sindh home department has written a letter to the district and sessions judge of Hyderabad to ask for permission to launch an operation against inmates in the Hyderabad jail who are involved in militant activities.
The decision comes after a report by intelligence agencies stated that there is a strong network of militant organisations working in the jail.
Sources in the home department told The Express Tribune that members of banned militant organisations jailed in Hyderabad are continuously in contact with their networks and are giving instructions on how and when to carry out terrorist attacks and other crimes such as robberies and kidnappings for ransom in the big cities of Pakistan.
“We have told the jail administration to devise a strategy for an operation against them,” sources said.
Even though prisoners are not allowed to use mobile phones, satellite phones are a major means of communicating with their organisations.
The Hyderabad jail administration has expressed its reservations over carrying out an operation by itself, sources said.
“We need extra forces to help us conduct a successful operation because its too difficult to do it on our own,” the administration admitted.
Talking to The Express Tribune, the jails minister, Haji Muzaffar Ali Shujra, said that according to the jail manual, the administration is supposed to carry out an operation to confiscate illegal materials being used by the inmates after every 15 to 20 days. This coming operation is part of that regular schedule.
“I cannot comment on the intelligence report but [I can tell you that] we have separated militants from the rest of the prisoners in all jails,” he said.
The minister said they had conducted search operations in around 21 jails of the province. The only jails left are those in Larkana and Hyderabad, which too shall be tackled soon, added Shujra.
The actual capacity of the 23 jails in Sindh is around 9,540. However, more than 18,000 inmates are sharing the space meant for almost half their number. Out of these, 15,000 are prisoners facing trial, which means that they have not been convicted of a crime yet.
Hyderabad jail is supposed to house 500 prisoners but the number of men jailed here is 1,200.
When asked about mobile jammers, which were to be installed earlier this year in almost all the jails to counter prisoners masterminding crimes from inside their cells, the minister replied that due to floods the project has been delayed. “We have now asked the finance department to give us the required money so that we can set up jammers in at least all central jails,” he said.
“There is no doubt that criminals are able to strengthen and continue their networks from behind bars but now we can block their communication through this new technology,” he said.
However, the minister’s optimism comes a bit too soon. The last time an operation was launched to put up mobile jammers in the central jails of Larkana and Hyderabad, thousands of inmates lashed out against the decision.
A two-week protest by the prisoners forced the jail authorities to postpone their plan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 13th, 2010.