The July 30 D I Khan jailbreak orchestrated by Taliban militants to release some 250 of their associates is not an isolated incident. The episode proves the analysis that the writ of the state is being eroded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well. If the same policies, or rather lack of any policy, are allowed to continue, there is a very serious threat that all of Pakistan could become like Waziristan.
The chronology of events in this particular incident shows the gross failure that led to it. On July 27, a federal agency sent a cable to the commissioner, deputy commissioner, DIG, DPO, and the D I Khan jail superintendent informing them that a Bannu-like attack was likely on the prison. The same cable informed them that Taliban militants had reached the city and acquired a map of the prison.
To avoid any future point scoring, each cable was verified by the officer who addressed and received it. The next day, the National Crisis Management Cell in the interior ministry sent another despatch labelled ‘Most Immediate’ to the offices of the home secretary, the IG police, additional chief secretary Fata, the IG prisons department, inspector general FC, and commandant FC, in which the threat to the prison was emphasised.
The day after that, the district administration was once again warned through mobile phone text messages. The intelligence agencies also informed them that most likely the attack would be from three sides and that the extremists might use 14 vehicles for the purpose. There was also information that they would be helped by their associates in the prison.
On July 28, militants held in the jail tried to create a disturbance. The intelligence reports and the prisoners’ actions prompted the district administration to visit jail, which ended in 105 security guards and 75 police personnel being posted as extra security measures. Even the station commander Brig Mansoor Aziz visited the jail, a visit well reported in a handout published in the local papers of Peshawar on July 30: “In…Central Jail D I Khan…disturbance by accused prisoners…Station commander Brig Mansoor Aziz visited the jail to check the security arrangements…instructed to make the security…better….disturbance report (ha)s been sent to Inspector General Prisons Khalid Abbas by Superintendent Ghulam Rabbani. He also registered the incident of disturbance in Cantonment Police Stations.”
Despite all these precautions, militants attacked the prison building around midnight and completed their operation in two and half hours – releasing 248 of their associates. The militants came from Waziristan and that is exactly where they returned. It doesn’t matter which Waziristan they came from – north or south – since all roads have countless check posts of both the police and the army.
Shockingly, 100 militants and 248 prisoners were allowed to get away. The military didn’t feel the need to move, even though the station commander had already asked to tighten the security just one day earlier! No one seems to be able to answer one question: where was the DPO and other police officers while the attack was taking place?
It has already been acknowledged that jail staff and police personnel stationed there had shown no resistance. This time the terrorists did not break the wall but entered through the main gate. What is most shameful is the fact that the Taliban spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid informed media persons at 2:30 am that 100 Taliban militants had freed 250 from the jail. ShaukatullahYousafzai, spokesperson for the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, continued to insist till late morning that not a single prisoner had fled.
Instead of figuring out what had happened and what led to the failure in security, the provincial government tried to place all responsibility on the federal government by declaring that no intelligence was shared. However, federal agencies were quick to respond by leaking the cables to the media. Although many days have gone by since the prison break, neither the prime minister nor the chief minister has cared to visit the site.
While some may see the D I Khan jailbreak as a routine terrorist incident, for me it raises some serious points. The first is that with the change in government, coordination between civil and military institutions has become more complicated. Military circles insist that since the provincial government moved no written request, the military was not able to act. The provincial ministers, on the other hand, blame the military in private. When we asked about the written requisition, they asked if the station commander visited the jail and gave instructions to jail administration on any of their requisition. When we question the efficiency of the provincial government, they ask how 100 armed extremists could make their way through a web of military check posts.
Another serious issue is the lack of resistance shown by the police. This can only mean one of two things: first, the police have no ability to put up resistance and second, that the police force no more wishes to fight for the state. Such serious issues demanded that both the prime minister and the chief minister should have reviewed the national security policy. However, what we got instead was the PM flying off to the land of the kings and the CM preferring to visit Imran Khan in Bani Gala instead of going to D I Khan.
In light of everything, I am now convinced that the least the government can do is implement the recommendations of the Abbottabad Commission Report – sort of like a temporary national security policy. And I request the CM of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to try and implement the recommendations prepared by Home Secretary Azam Khan. If these steps are not taken, we may soon see the whole province -- and gradually our country -- be converted into extended versions of Waziristan.
The writer works for Geo TV.
Email: saleem.safi@janggroup.com.pk

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