Karachi Central Jail: The next target of Al Qaeda?

 

From left to right: Abdul Hakeem, Adman Rasheed, and Yassin Chouka

“We pledge to God that we will spare no effort to free all our prisoners.”  An Islamic website posted a 22-minutes audio recording by al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri,in July of 2013. Since then we have seen four successful jailbreaks, orchestrated by al-Qaeda, in Pakistan, Libya, Iraq and Yemen. The Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan have formed a new organization called “Ansar al Aseer” (supporters of prisoners) that is specifically designed to free prisoners and support their families.

List of jailbreaks by Al-Qaida

Date	Freed	Dead/Injured	Location
2013-07-21	500	50+/unknown	Abu Ghraib and Taji, Iraq
2013-07-27	1,117	Unknown	Benghazi,Libya
2013-07-29	250	12/8	Dera Ismail Khan,Pakistan
2014-02-13	29	10/unknown	Sana'a, Yemen

All Al Qaeda linked jailbreaks follow a similar pattern from a single training manual. First, more than 100 fighters drive into town – usually in some kind of camouflage. Another 100 or more are deployed outside the town to prevent reinforcements from arriving and to allow the prisoners to escape via designated routes in buses.

Suicide bombers blast their way through the walls or the main gate of the prison and follow-up fighters kill any remaining guards. Using layout plans already in their possession, they make their way to the prominent militants first and then free the rest of the inmates. Finally, everyone makes an orderly exit.

Another common factor in all such jailbreaks is security guards paid by Al-Qaeda to provide information and support.

Central Jail, Karachi

Central Jail, Karachi, home to many known Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners was put on high alert after security threats. Cell phone jammers were planted around the prison and additional convoys of police, rangers and armored cars were deployed. Sindh High Court transferred twenty high-profile trials outside Karachi due to the security threat.

The million-dollar question is: Why Central Jail Karachi?

According to The Wall street Journal , “The Pakistani Taliban have tightened their grip over the country's commercial hub (Karachi). TTP controls or dominates about 470 square miles of Karachi, or nearly a third of its area specially outskirts.”  In Taliban controlled areas, TTP has established itself by taxing residents and businesses and setting up courts in neighborhoods to resolve disputes.

Sohrab Goth, an area on the outskirts of Karachi, is a known haunt for the Taliban as well as Al-Qaeda. Sohrab Goth is also considered a “Safe haven” for militants and a “NO GO AREA” for law enforcement agencies.

Fastest route from Central Jail Karachi to Sohrab Goth

The distance between Sohrab Goth and Central Jail Karachi is about 8 miles or 12.5 KM and travel time by car, in normal traffic conditions, is 11 minutes. In other words, the distance between the prison and a well-protected safe haven is just 11 minutes.

The frequent attacks on police and Rangers have become the new norm in Karachi.  Atleast 50 law enforcers were killed in targeted killings and bomb blasts since the beginning of 2014. After the murder of CID SP Chaudhry Aslam Khan, Police has “stopped” hot pursuit of members of TTP. Within areas considered TTP and Al-Qaeda strongholds, members of the police force do not venture out of police stations.

According NBC News “Security forces are struggling for their own safety as the Taliban increase the ferocity and nature of their attacks”

Karachi police and Rangers have shifted their focus from TTP/Al-Qaeda to the political victimization and extra judicial killing of political workers. Recently, Karachiites have witnessed in surge of police encounters. According to police and Rangers statistics ranging from January 27, 2014 to February 05, 2014, eighteen criminals have been killed in at least 47 encounters in the city.  Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the second largest political party in Sindh, has formally launched a nationwide protest against missing persons, brutal torture and extrajudicial killings of their workers by law enforcement agencies.

The question to ask is that can the highly politicized and demoralized police force prevent an attack on Karachi Central Jail by a powerful and organized enemy?  One can easily predict the outcome.

Also Published in:

Express Tribune
http://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/21131/11-minutes-to-karachi-central-jail-another-taliban-and-al-qaeda-jailbreak-in-the-making/

ARY News
http://blogs.arynews.tv/karachi-central-jail-next-target-al-qaeda/

Saach TV
http://www.saach.tv/2014/03/04/karachi-central-jail-the-next-target-of-al-qaeda/

Twitter ID: @fawadrehman

Bullets don't win hearts and minds

Pakistan has a long history of extra-judicial killings; not only by Pakistani security forces but also by permitted US drones strikes. Apparently the Pakistani civilian government, independent judiciary and the general public are all powerless before the powerful Army. 

1971: atrocities in Bangladesh,1992: operation clean up in Karachi , the military conflict in Baluchistan, peace operation in KPK; Pakistan Armed forces has been accused of extra-judicial killings and disappearances of innocent civilians. Pakistan Army categorically refuses these allegations but human right organizations, court documents, international observers and the evidence speaks oppositely. 

On Oct-28-2013, the relatives of missing persons from Baluchistan started a 730 kilometer peaceful long march from Quetta to Karachi for the recovery of disappeared persons. Few hours before the long march, the frustrated Chief Minister of Baluchistan, Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch admitted administrative failure over the missing persons. According to the Chief Minister “he could not resolve missing person issue.”

During hearings of the Baluchistan unrest case, the Commission on the Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances has itself confirmed the extrajudicial killings of 530 persons during 2001-2013. The official list also confirms that over 2,500 persons are missing after their arrest. On one occasion, the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that the evidence was available against Frontier Corps (FC) personnel in some ‘missing’ person cases. Inspector General Frontier Corps (IGFC) denied the charges and stated that all cases would be thoroughly examined and any missing person found with the FC would be revealed.

In September 2009, then US ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, sent an assessment to the US State department. According to reports, an estimated 5000 detainees were picked up illegally by Pakistani security forces during anti-Taliban operations in Malakand division, KPK.

In 2010, shocking footage emerged that purported to show Pakistani soldiers (the targeted units 12 Punjab infantry regiment and the paramilitary Frontier Corps) murdering six men. By conservative estimates over 300 people had been extra judicially murdered by Pakistan security forces during Swat operation in 2009, according to US State department reports. COAS formulated the investigation team and denied the charges at the same time.

Recently, the metropolitan city of Karachi witnessed an increase in illegal arrests, torture, kidnapping and extra judicial murders by law enforcement agencies. Dilshad Ahmed Khan, a worker of Muttahida Quami Movement was illegally arrested and brutally tortured to death by Rangers, the para-military force of Pakistan. To no one’s surprise, the Rangers denied the allegation.

This is not the first time the Army or other law enforcement agencies were involved in extra-judicial activities in Karachi. During operation cleanup (1992-2000), over 15000 MQM workers were extra-judicially killed, 28 missing persons and countless tortured by Pakistan armed forces. The Amnesty International 1996 report “Human rights crisis in Karachi” urged the Government of Pakistan to adopt measures to stop the large-scale human rights violations in Karachi, the capital of Sindh. Once again the law enforcement agencies rejected those changes.

 

A recent report by The Washington Post, based on US classified secret documents, revealed that U.S. drone attacks in Pakistani territory have been secretly permitted over years by the government in Islamabad.  According to two leading human rights NGOs, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch between 400-900 civilians have been killed in over 330 drone strikes in Pakistan between 2004 and 2013. Ironically, for past 10 years Army also denied these allegations. 

The government of Pakistan and independent judiciary must take action to halt extra-judicial killing and brutal torture by armed forces and intelligence agencies. Those who committed atrocities in Bangladesh, Baluchistan, Swat or in Karachi should be brought to justice. There is no excuse for law enforcement personnel to betray the public’s trust by rebuttals and false statements. Pakistani Army, Para-military forces and Intelligence agencies should understand that a bullet in the back of the head is simply not the way to win hearts and minds.

Twitter ID @fawadrehman