PM discusses jailbreak with Khattak

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif discussed the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak here on Wednesday. According to an official of the Prime Minister’s Office, the chief minister briefed Mr Sharif on the audacious attack claimed by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan. The assailants freed about 250 prisoners. The two leaders discussed ways of making intelligence-sharing between the provincial and federal governments operative part of future security planning to effectively thwart such incidents. According to media reports, intelligence agencies had warned in advance about the attack but no pre-emptive measures were taken. The prime minister, according to the official, asked Mr Khattak about security lapses, which led to the highly embarrassing jailbreak. He also asked how the centre could help the KP government in plugging the loopholes. Mr Khattak informed the prime minister that he had taken action against some officials and ordered an investigation into the incident. Mr Sharif assured the chief minister that the federal government was ready to provide all possible assistance to the province and expressed the hope that the provincial government would take adequate measures to fight terrorism and arrest the militants who had escaped from the jail.He stressed the need for joint efforts by the federal and provincial governments to avoid recurrence of such incidents. Former interior secretary Tasneem Noorani said that intelligence was shared with the provincial departments concerned, but they failed to take required measures to prevent incidents of terror. “I think people in charge lacked training, motivation and courage to face the attackers, otherwise everything seems to be in place,” he said. Mr Noorani who headed the interior ministry from 2001 to 2004, said the provincial government should take strict action against officials found to be negligent. He said that as a routine intelligence agencies forwarded their findings to the departments concerned which should decide what action should be taken. He said in case of the DI Khan jailbreak no excuse was acceptable because the agencies had given even date and time of the attack.Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman called Prime Minister Sharif and complained against the imposition of curfew in DI Khan after the jailbreak. “Prisoners are freed in DI Khan, but the curfew has placed people under detention,” he was quoted as saying.JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai said the Maulana had told Mr Sharif that people in several areas had to sleep in their cars on roads. The prime minister assured the JUI-F chief that the issue would be taken up with relevant authorities. Mr Achakzai quoted the Maulana as saying that the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa wanted to hide its failure with curfew and other cosmetic measures. The Maulana said the PTI had forgotten the statements it had made to criticise the then ANP government after the Bannu jailbreak. “From day one the JUI-F opposed the formation of the PTI government in KP and recent events have proved that our apprehensions were correct and the province is a victim of bad governance,” the JUI-F chief said.