RAWALPINDI - Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz stalwart and former MNA Hanif Abbasi was shifted from Adiala Jail to Attock prison by authorities on Saturday morning amid tight security, sources revealed.
Abbasi was shifted to Attock Jail on orders of Inspector General of Prisons, Punjab who reportedly took the decision on findings of two-member committee that probed the matter of photograph of Abbasi with Mian Nawaz Sharif and others in the office of Superintendent Adiala Jail Saeed Ullah Gondal after the former premier was released from the prison. The IGP also constituted a special inspection team tasking it to visit the jail and probe the matter.
A special team also launched search operation in Adiala Jail on orders of IG Prisons Sahid Saleem Baig.
Hanif Abbasi is completing his life sentence after his conviction in Ephedrine smuggling case.
On the orders of the IG Prisons, the 2-member committee was constituted to investigate as to how the photographs were clicked with former premier Mian Nawaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in National Assembly Mian Shehbaz Sharif and others in the office of Superintendent of Adiala Jail prior to release of Nawaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Capt (R) Muhammad Safdar.
The committee members were Deputy IG Prisons Multan Region Malik Shaukat and Additional IG Judicial Malik Safdar. The committee probed as to how the visitors managed to bring a camera or phone into the office of superintendent despite a ban on bringing camera or mobile phones inside the jail. The committee members also obtained CCTV footages and grilled the staffers on duty. The final inquiry report would be sent to IG Prisons Shahid Saleem Baig probably on Monday, sources said.
On the other hand, the special team, formed by IG Prisons, launched a search operation in Adiala Jail following the shifting of Hanif Abbasi.
In a statement, Superintendent Adiala Jail Saeed Ullah Gondal said that a detailed search operation was launched but no contraband things/articles were recovered from any prisoner. He said that the inquiry committee went back to Lahore to submit its report to IG Prisons.
However, the sources claimed that jail authorities on Friday that was a public holiday (10th Muharram) had launched a grand secret clean-up operation in the barracks of all the inmates and confiscated all the contrabands/prohibited articles including internet devices, CDs and cell phones. The seized items were transported out of jail on tractor trolley and hid in some undisclosed location, sources said. They said that the prohibited articles were in use of dangerous prisoners involved in high-profile cases. They said that the purpose of grand clean-up operation was to throw mud into eyes of a special team formed by the IG Prisons that launched search operation in Adiala Jail.
