Wonder how the media is calling the DI Khan incident a jailbreak, a jailbreak happens from inside out, this happened from outside inwards. This was certified attack, an assault, a small invasion, a few hours takeover. And it was planned, executed and finessed in a way that the Federal Public Service Commission should introduce a course in the memory of incident. Even the brightest of the FPSC products could have not devised such an impeccable plan, they simply nailed every level of governance from district management to federal administration and everything in between.
Prior to plunging in the details, it is important to mention as reported by Waqt News correspondent in DIK, Usman Awan, the DIK Police are still clueless where 150 assailants, rescued militants and 18 vehicles (blistering with weapons) have vanished. FATA political agents say that the attackers might have slipped-in through the FATA-KPK strip one at a time, but did not return; implying that the attackers might still be in the same region or, maybe, the political agents just fear the TTP.
A similar incident took place in April of 2012 at Bannu Central jail which was owned by the same group. Both attacks were identical; the only difference between the two was that the DI Khan Jail attack was lengthier.
As we skim through both incidents trying to reverse-engineer the attacks, studying the geographic location of both the cities is important. Bannu and DI Khan both lay on the same strip right before the lawless Waziristan-FATA. Bannu lies above DIK and is much more exposed to the FATA region, while DIK is situated much deeper in the country. Logistically, the Bannu jail was an easier target which boosted the morale of the attackers. And why wouldn’t it, imagine yourself ridiculing the writ of the government in such a manner and coming back home safe. Such an incident was bound to happen again, when ever required.
And so it did, before the government could, the militants further redressed their flaws, strengthened strategy, and minimised shortcomings, and came back with a bigger bang, a more modified version of the previous attack. This time they were prepared to take more chances, eyeing on a more complex target, the DIK central jail.
Both attacks, Bannu and DIK had many similarities, depicting that it was designed by the same brand. The assaults were coordinated and owned mainly by the same group, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, the theme of attack was almost the same, the number of attackers as well as the style of attack was identical. They cut down the electric supply before barging in, fired rockets, used grenades and mortars propagating the insurgence. In both incidents the police was simply outnumbered and demoralised.
Since DIK was the second attempt, the attackers seemed more confident and well planned though it was a longer trip. The Bannu attack went on for around two hours, while in the second attack the militants seemed to be in no hurry. The DIK episode stretched to 4-6 as reported by different papers. This time the attackers were seen in police uniforms to create confusion and help in penetrating in the city and fleeing out. Loudspeakers were used to reach out to the focal captives. And on the way back with their rescued friends, they had enough time to booby-trap the jail leaving a sense of surprise for the late-coming reinforcement.
Before placing the blames, minister interior affairs Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan’s early speeches in the National Assembly this year, should be quoted here. He said that during his drive to the assembly that day he was without his protocol and was driving on his own, and was allowed in to penetrate the red-zone and further in to the national assembly premises without any checking or hindrance. He said that pickets were there, men were there, but they were standing there without any agenda, any action plan. “The entire government machinery seems to be sleeping, politicians come and go, but the government management remains intact, what is going on? questioned the minister of interior while standing in the National Assembly.
There should no doubt that the KPK government from the CM till provincial home minister should be held responsible especially when they had received reports prior to the incident. It does not matter how many times a year they receive such intelligence, they should act promptly on every threat alerts, this is a country they are managing. To be a bit more fair, during the ANP Raj in the KPK, minister of interior of PPP at that time, Rehman Malik came out to take the heat of the incident, same should have been done this time as well.
Many question still to be answered, who is responsible of shifting such high-level militants in the corridors of FATA? It doesn’t require any qualification to decide where such high-level convict should be kept, or jails should be checked for mobiles and laptops. Both incidents could have been intercepted at many points coming in and going out, if the machinery would have not been sleeping. We lash out on drone attacks and could not stop a literal road-trip.
It’s time to point out another sleeping but major stakeholder, the infectiously increasing, good for nothing, bureaucracy. This over grown, baby brained adult needs care itself, its funny to think that it could manage the country. Many incidents have surfaced, many people held responsible, put to task, politicians, public leaders, intuitional heads and even the army comes under severe criticism now-a-days, but its these guys who escape the needle point every time and with such prestige. The ‘Gora remains’ should be questioned and accounted for in order to kick-start the rusted mechanism of governance.