Warnings issued: Three major Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa prisons on militants’ hit-list

Intelligence agencies have conveyed alerts about possible attacks on Peshawar, Haripur and DI Khan prisons.

PESHAWAR: Repeated threat alerts of possible militant attacks on three prisons in the province have resulted in inmates being shifted from one prison to another, The Express Tribune learnt on Friday.

According to an official privy to the matter, intelligence agencies have conveyed fresh alerts to relevant authorities about possible militant attacks on Peshawar, Haripur and DI Khan prisons.

“These three facilities house some high-profile militants, however, security is always beefed up and the army is ready to respond to any untoward incident,” said an official, requesting anonymity.

He added officials of the armed forces also conduct regular drills to combat any such attack.

A large number of high-profile prisoners, including Dr Shakil Afridi, are currently incarcerated at the Peshawar Central Prison. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak recently wrote an unofficial letter to the interior minister seeking Dr Afridi’s relocation, however, the federal government is yet to reply.

According to insiders, all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan, are reluctant to keep Dr Afridi in their prisons, terming him a threat.

K-P’s prisons are also overburdened with inmates, estimated at 10,000, whereas the combined capacity at all five prisons of the province is around 7,300. Two prisons are currently under construction in Swat and Abbottabad.

On January 9, a letter written to CM Khattak informed him of serious resistance from prisoners at the Peshawar Central Prison and conveyed threat alerts by intelligence agencies of a possible militant attack on the prison targeting Dr Shakil Afridi, who is accused of helping the CIA track down Osama bin Laden.

In April 2012, over 200 heavily armed Taliban militants travelling in several vehicles attacked the Central Jail in Bannu and released 384 prisoners. Four policemen were injured in that assault.

In yet another brazen attack on a prison, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants attacked DI Khan Central Prison on July 29, 2013. The militants engaged the prison’s guards and security forces in a gun battle, stormed the facility and escaped with nearly 230 prisoners. At least 12 people were killed and seven injured during the assault.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 7^th, 2014.