HYDERABAD: Hyderabad Central Jail’s Superintendent Younus Masih is facing serious threat to his life as a telephonic conversation between Taliban leaders intercepted recently has disclosed that a highly trained team of militants has been sent to eliminate him because of alleged maltreatment of some high-profile inmates and because he is a non-Muslim.

Sources said that in the intercepted phone call two Taliban leaders were heard saying that a special team had been sent to take out Mr Masih.

Hyderabad has one of the country’s most sensitive prisons, housing 36 high-profile prisoners belonging to the TTP, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, Sipah-i-Sahaba, Jundullah and some political parties.

One of the five convicts in journalist Daniel Pearl’s kidnapping and murder case, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, allegedly attempted to commit suicide in the jail on Feb 12 because he wanted to freely visit any part of the prison to spread his message.

An FIR was lodged under Section 325 of the PPC at the Baldia police station by Central Jail Assistant Superintendent Syed Nadeem Akhter Shah.

Omar Sheikh was sentenced to death on July 15, 2002, while co-accused Sheikh Adil, Salman Saqib and Fahad Naseem were given life imprisonment.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Masih confirmed that he had been instructed to restrict his movement because of a new threat to his life.

Assistant Superintendent Agha Mohammad Naeem Ghauri was gunned down at Nabbu Fakir Chowk in Tando Tayyab on Aug 10 last year.