If at first…: Chief minister mulling fresh probe into DI Khan jailbreak

Insiders claim the current report favours certain officials.

PESHAWAR:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has disregarded the inquiry report of the DI Khan jailbreak citing ‘favouritism’, and is likely to order a fresh inquiry into the incident, sources privy to the matter told The Express Tribune.

“The inquiry was not objective and the panel favoured some officials. The chief minister may order a fresh inquiry as he considers the report to not be up to the mark,” said an insider, adding the inquiry was carried out on an “ethnic basis”.



He alleged two senior officials who mislead the chief minister were left out completely in the inquiry, while only a few were held accountable. This is why the chief minister is reluctant to make the report public, said the source.

Other high-ranking officials in the provincial bureaucracy contended the chief minister would never humiliate the K-P government in such a way. They claimed those held responsible by the panel were transferred but promoted at the same time, thus getting more of a reward than a penalty.

“The chief minister was informed about the possible militant attack through the K-P chief secretary. He cannot deny it,” said one senior official, requesting anonymity. He cited DI Khan Commissioner Mushtaq Jadoon being witness to this. Jadoon reportedly wrote a letter to the chief minister wherein he refused to attend a meeting a day before the attack took place. The commissioner had said he was busy taking precautionary measures to avert a possible militant attack.

This is contrary to what the chief minister had said on the floor of the house a day after the incident. Khattak had told lawmakers no prior intelligence was shared regarding a possible threat, tacitly placing the blame on intelligence agencies and the home department.

Over 230 prisoners escaped from DI Khan Central Jail on July 29 when Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan insurgents disguised in police uniforms stormed the facility armed with mortars and grenades. At least 12 people including four policemen were killed while seven others were wounded in the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 26^th, 2013.