THE successful escape on Friday of a militant involved in the Nanga Parbat massacre and another accused of killing one of the investigators in the case is only the latest in a growing list of jailbreaks by militants charged with heinous crimes. And once again the manner in which the jailbreak was executed suggests the possible involvement of elements among the prison authorities although details about how the escape was effected are still sketchy.

Reportedly, four prisoners somehow managed to convince the prison guards that they were armed and made their escape. In the ensuing shootout, one prisoner was killed and another critically injured. The jail was guarded by three separate law-enforcement and paramilitary bodies, and if and when an inquiry into the event is undertaken, it must look into why security was not foolproof. The prisoners’ escape shows that holding hardened militants in jails meant for ordinary criminals is fraught with risk, even though, unlike two other jailbreaks — at Bannu and D.I. Khan — this incident did not involve a large force attacking the prison from outside.

The episode highlights the need for special detention facilities for hardened militants. Holding them in facilities meant for ordinary criminals only raises the likelihood of attacks launched by militants from outside, or an escape of the sort just witnessed. The fact that even after two large jailbreaks, and one incident in which an escape tunnel was discovered near a prison in Karachi, militants continue to be held in ordinary facilities and guarded by forces with poor training shows the authorities’ half-hearted approach to law-enforcement functions necessary in the fight against militancy. It is vital that the task of apprehending and detaining militants be taken far more seriously than it is at present. Rather than let the problem of weaknesses in the detention apparatus fester, only to be ‘handled’ through emotive and sudden calls for handing it over to the military — as was done with the courts — the challenge of holding militants in secure facilities needs to be addressed through effective, long-term measures. It is perplexing that hardened militants involved in the Nanga Parbat massacre should be held in a district jail in Gilgit. By now it ought to have been obvious that holding militants is serious business. Unfortunately, as the jailbreak makes clear, authorities here insist on learning their lessons the hard way. We can only hope that this pattern will change in the future.

Published in Dawn March 1st , 2015

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