Karachi prison break: Arrest of escaped prisoners top priority, says SSP CTD

KARACHI: Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Omar Shahid said on Thursday that the arrest of the escaped prisoners is the topmost task for the police.

The SSP CTD in a press conference called the escape of the two prisoners a dangerous thing. The two were members of banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and managed to escape Karachi’s Central Jail on June 15.

SSP Omar Shahid said that his department has expressed reservations over the jail’s security earlier too.

He said that it would be requested to transfer the cases of the dangerous terrorists to military courts.

The role of the central jail’s administration would also be investigated, said SSP CTD Shahid.

He further said that more prisoners would be made a part of the investigation process regarding the prison break.

The two under-trial prisoners, Sheikh Muhammad Arif Firon and Ahmed Khan Arif Manako, were present in the jail’s judicial complex for a hearing when they managed to escape, said an official.

Following their escape, 12 police personnel, including the jail superintendent and his deputy, were arrested at the behest of the Sindh law and prisons minister. A case was also registered against them in the New Town Police Station.

The two suspects who escaped, Sheikh Muhammad and Ahmed Khan Arif Manako, were arrested by the CTD in 2013 over their involvement in dozens of targeted killings.