Committee constituted to probe DI Khan prison break

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has commissioned an enquiry into the attack on Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan) Central Prison by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants and the resultant escape of 247 prisoners on Tuesday night.

The committee will comprise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Senior Member Board of Revenue Waqar Ayub, KP Home and Tribal Affairs Department Special Secretary Syed Alamgir Shah, Additional Inspector General Police (Special Branch) Syed Akhtar Ali Shah and representative of Pakistan Army (Headquarters 11 Corps).

The terms of reference of the committee are to unearth the facts leading to the incident and those responsible for it.

The committee seeks to reveal what action, if any, was initiated by the field formations of all concerned in light of the threats to the KP Home Department on July 28and 29.

Furthermore, it has to investigate whether a joint security review of the prisons was undertaken after the threats, what decisions were taken to improve the prison’s security, whether the follow up action at the district and divisional level was timely and upto the mark, to fix responsibility for each of the above in case of violation of any law/rules/SOPs/directives and to fix responsibility for acts of omission and commission, if any.

The committee should come up with comprehensive and plausible recommendations to ensure the safety of prisons in KP.

The committee should complete the enquiry within 15 days and submit its report.

The Home and Tribal Affairs Department shall provide secretarial support to the committee, says a notification issued by the department.