TIMERGARA, Oct 16: The protesting prisoners, including Taliban, at the District Jail were brought under control after security forces were called in to end the nine-hour standoff here on Thursday.

According to jail sources, at least two officials, including jail deputy superintendent, were injured in the unrest.

The jail authorities had to seek the help of army and paramilitary troops to pacify the situation when the protesting prisoners, most of them stated to be Taliban, took hostage four jail officials early in the morning to pressurise the jail authorities to accept their demands, the sources told Dawn.

Tension subsided after security forces held talks with the protesting prisoners and secured release of the four jail officials.

The protesting prisoners, reportedly led by a group of Taliban, were demanding of the jail authorities to return their seized cellphones and end the alleged physical violence against them.

During the commotion, some of the armed prisoners hurled a hand-grenade and opened fire on the police personnel as a result jail’s Deputy Superintendent Mohammad Ayub Khan and constable Mudassar sustained minor wounds. They were taken to the DHQ hospital Timergara, where they were discharged after treatment.

After the incident, security forces cordoned off the whole area and blocked the roads leading towards the jail. They fired teargas shells and opened fire in the air to control the situation. In return, the rioting prisoners also fired shots against the security forces who had taken positions in the nearby hills on the jail premises, some residents and prisoners told Dawn on phone.

However, the police and military officials denied such information and said that there was no return of fire from inside the jail. Later the authorities started negotiations with leaders of the protesting prisoners, who released the officials.

A spokesman for the army said that the prisoners had gone back to their barracks and only five of them refused to end the strike. The police said the group of five militants had a pistol with them. However, they were not sure how many pistols they had.

Later, a deadlock occurred in talks between the district administration and the protesting prisoners’ leaders. The militants were demanding of the authorities to first decide the ‘matter’ then they would go back into the barracks while the authorities were demanding of the militants to first go to the barracks and then the ‘matter’ would be resolved through talks. However, the authorities succeeded to send them back to their barracks.

The police started search operation during which they claimed to have recovered nine hand-grenades, three pistols and cellphone sets from the prisoners’ possession, the sources added.