Adiala Jail staff providing cell phone services to terrorists

The News 21 Sept 2013 ISLAMABAD: After startling revelations in official Punjab documents that terrorists are planning another Bannu and DI Khan-style jailbreak in Rawalpindi, as they have links with the outer world via cell phones provided to them by the jail staff, police high-ups want the cellular companies to block signals in and around jails. Ban on mobile phones on jail premises is being seen as a difficult task. There are at least 43 hardcore terrorists in the Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi, who are being facilitated by the jail staff by allowing them cell phone connections, documents reveal. The jail staff has been found using dozens of SIM cards and cell phones yet the police high-ups are focusing on requesting the cell phone operators to block the signals in and around the Adiala Jail. The documents state that one jail official was found with 231 SIM cards and 12 cell phones inside the jail. A telecom sector expert told The News that the cellular signals are disseminated through triangular poles and it is not difficult to make a specific area a black-site where no signals are sent but at times it fails as cell phones do catch signals on and off in such areas. After the Bannu jailbreak last year in which terrorists got released dozens of their companions, including Adnan Rasheed, the Punjab government conducted a technical monitoring of staff of Rawalpindi central jail, which revealed that all the terrorists and gangsters were free to contact their networks courtesy the jail staff. After the recent DI Khan jailbreak, the police chief of Rawalpindi Division wrote to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority to ask cellular operators to keep the jail out of the loop of cellular services. The police chief wrote in his letter that the Bannu and DI Khan jailbreaks were made possible because the inmates had uninterrupted connection with their networks. The police chief mentioned that there are 43 terrorists in the Adiala Jail and are linked with outside, planning an untoward situation. The PTA has been asked to keep cell phone signals off the Adiala Jail as installing a jammer may not work because of long loadshedding schedules. Details reveal that Imran Shahzad, a senior clerk, was using 92 SIMs and 17 cell phones in the jail. Jail Warden Mazhar Iqbal had 76 SIMs in his name; Jail Warden Sohail Shahzad was using 36 SIM cards and seven cell phones in the jail; Junior Clerk Farhad Ahmad was using seven SIM cards; Assistant Superintendent (AS) Mustafa Ahmad was using five SIM cards and four mobile phones; AS Allahdad had nine SIM cards and seven cell phones; AS Hafiz Qamarul Islam was using four SIM cards and two cell phones; Lady Health Visitor Shehnaz Gul was using 12 SIM cards and two cell phones; Lady Warden Sakeena Bibi had 10 SIM cards and four cell phones; Warden Nisar Ahmad was using 4 SIMs and three cell phones; Warden Muhammad Ameen had four SIMs and four phones; Warden Muhammad Iqbal had five SIMs and two phones; Warden Basharat Hussain used nine SIMs and 10 cell phones; Warden Amir Shahzad was using 15 SIMs and four cell phones; Computer Operator Auranzeb was using four SIM cards and two cell phones; Head Warden Ishaq Hussain was using 14 SIM cards and five cell phones; Warden Rashid Khan was using four SIM cards and four cell phones in the jail; Muhammad Usman Butt was in possession of 8 SIMs and four cell phones; Muhammad Usman was found with 5 SIMs and three cell phones; Warden Ghulam Abbas had 15 SIMs and three cell phones; Warden Muhammad Furqan had 20 SIM cards and five cell phones; Warden Muhammad Usman used 14 SIM cards and three cell phones; Warden Norasab Khan had four SIM cards and three cell phones; Hameed Farooq and Nadeem Mehmood had six SIM cards each. The documents reveal that all these officials failed to give any reason as to why they were using so many SIMs and cells in the jail. The documents state that the jail officials charged the inmates with Rs100-300 for making a cell phone call per minute. “Because of this practice, terrorists remain connected with their networks which can cost heavily,” the documents said. Moreover, it has been reported in black and white that when the jail superintendent tried to impose checks on terrorists associated with religious outfits, he received a call next day from phone number 928-313789 and the caller introduced himself as a representative of the TTP. The superintendent was threatened that if he doesn’t cooperate with the inmates, he may face severe consequences. The documents cautioned that a Bannu style jailbreak could be planned in Rawalpindi if the jail staff was not stopped from such practices. The documents also mention that car theft activities and dacoities are also being monitored through cell phones by gangsters while being in jail.