GILGIT: Two high-profile prisoners accused of assassinating Diamer SSP Muhammad Hilal and Col Ghulam Mustafa and Capt Ashfaq Aziz of the army escaped from the district jail here on Friday, while an inmate allegedly involved in the Nanga Parbat massacre of foreign tourists and their guide was killed and another injured.

According to a police official, Hazrat Bilal and Dilbar Khan of Diamer were suspects in the killing of 10 foreign tourists and their guide near the Nanga Parbat base camp on June 23, 2013. Liaqat and Habibul Rahman of Thak Sharat area were accused of murdering the senior superintendent of police and the two army officers in August 2013 when they were taking part in an operation to arrest suspects in the Nanga Parbat killings and an attack in Chilas in which 19 Shia passengers of buses were gunned down.

They escaped at about 2.45am after breaking a wall of the barracks and scaling the boundary wall of the prison, Gilgit Deputy Commissioner Ajmal Bhathi said.

Police and Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts personnel who were on duty at the gate opened fire at the fleeing prisoners although there was no electricity in the area at the time.

Liaqat and Habibul Rahman escaped, Dilbar Khan was killed and Hazrat Bilal injured.

The official said that army, GB Scouts and police personnel cordoned off the area and launched a search for the fugitives in various localities of the town.

According to another police official, Gilgit-Baltistan Home Secretary Sibtain Ahmed announced a reward of Rs2 million for help rendered in capturing the prisoners.

Jails Deputy Inspector General Muhammad Faisal, two wardens and two other officials of the prison were suspended and a committee was formed to investigate the matter.

Police sources said that under the National Action Plan against terrorism, the regional administration had decided to transfer to military courts cases of seven high-profile incidents of terrorism.

They said the regional ‘apex committee’ had instructed the officials concerned on Feb 6 to beef up the prison’s security.

A large number of activists of various religious groups held a sit-in outside the Diamer deputy commissioner’s office in Chilas, demanding immediate handover of the body of Bilal who was allegedly involved in the Nanga Parbat attacks and had been killed while trying to flee from the jail.

Workers of the Tanzeem Ahl-i-Sunnat Waljamaat, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Jamaat-i-Islami gathered at the place after Friday prayers and were joined in the sit-in by Bilal’s relatives.

The protesters condemned the killing of the prisoner and shouted slogans against the government and police.

They dispersed after Diamer DC Usman Ahmed assured them that the body would be handed over to them after completion of the legal procedure.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2015

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