Committee formed to probe militants

Law enforcement agencies on Friday launched a crackdown inside the Karachi central prison after the escape of two hardened sectarian militants exposed vulnerable security measures.
The swoop was carried out as part of an investigation of factors that led to the escape of the two high profile militants of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ).
Shaikh Mohammad Mumtaz alias Firaun, as well as Sher Khan and Mohammad Ahmad Khan, alias Munna, escaped from the judicial complex, which is located inside the high-walled Karachi Central Jail.
Authorities immediately suspended and arrested at least 12 policemen, including the jail superintendent, and his deputy.
The two militants belonged to Naeem Bukhari group of the LeJ, which has been blamed for many high profile terrorist attacks and targeted killings.
Both were booked in collectively more than 50 murders of Shiites and policemen.
Initial information of the escape suggested the militants had managed to arrange a metal cutting machine which they used to break the steel bars when they were brought to the jail ahead of their court appearances.
Provincial police have announced a reward of 5 million rupees (Dh175,213) for the information leading to the rearrest of the absconding militants.
Talking to the media outside the provincial assembly law and prison minister Ziaul Hasan Linjar said that the government has taken notice of the escape. He said that beside arresting 12 jail, an official probe was also ongoing to see if any insiders had help the militants escape.
He said a committee was formed under Sanaullah Abbasi, chief of the counter terrorism department to investigate and file its report to the government.
Linjar further said some construction work was going on inside the judicial complex and there was quite hectic activities of labourers because of the work and the escaping militants might have taken advantage of that situation.
Sources said that because of the ongoing construction work, the close circuit television (CCTV) cameras were also not working.
The investigator also found three crucial gates which were usually kept locked were unlocked because of the construction work.
Source : Gulf News