Fresh probe ordered into Dera jailbreak

PESHAWAR: The provincial government has ordered a fresh inquiry into the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak, which had occurred in the last week of July 2013. According to a handout here on Friday, Dr Hammad Uwais Agha, BS-21, secretary, environment department, will be convener of the inquiry committee, while Fazli Rabbi, BS-20, chairman BISE Malakand, would act as member of the committee. The committee will have the mandate to fix responsibility over acts of omissions and commissions in express terms on the officers/officials for negligence in the incident. The committee would give its findings in two weeks to proceed further in the matter. Heavily armed militants had attacked the DI Khan central prison on the night between July 29 and 30 last year and had got freed 253 prisoners and then returned to their sanctuaries with ease. Soon after the incident, the government had formed an inquiry committee to probe the jailbreak and fix responsibility. Instead, the 21-page inquiry report was shelved. The report recorded how a group of some 20 to 25 Mehsud militants, aided by a number of Punjabi militants as well as several Uzbeks and other supporters, travelled undetected from their hideout in South Waziristan to assemble at the Town Hall in Dera city just across the prison by 8:30pm. Referring to the inquiry report into the jailbreak, a former chief secretary lamented that disciplinary action should have been taken immediately against those responsible for the security lapse. Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2014