Islamabad, May 4 (Inditop) Three hundred highly-trained security personnel have been deployed at the Adiala Jail in the adjacent garrison town of Rawalpindi following reports that militants might try to free Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who has been imprisoned there for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai carnage.
Quoting well informed interior ministry officials, The News said Monday the additional forces from the Pakistan Rangers, the Punjab Constabulary and the Elite Force had been deployed inside and outside the jail, while anti-aircraft guns had been installed on the rooftops of the prison to foil a possible jailbreak.
Twenty-five fully armed Pakistan Rangers, 75 personnel of the Punjab Constabulary and 85 Elite Force troopers had been deployed for round-the-clock patrolling around the Adiala Jail.
Over 100 additional Rangers had been deployed within the jail premises.
An interior ministry official said the Adiala Jail authorities recently carried out a mock security exercise by activating emergency sirens to check the response time of the security personnel.
Along with Lakhvi, four of his associates have also been jailed. They are Zarar Shah, Abu al-Qama, Hammad Amin Saddiq and Shahid Jameel Riaz.
The News also said the authorities were probing whether the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in Lahore was an attempt to take the players hostage to demand the release of Lakhvi and the other LeT cadres.
Pakistani authorities arrested Lakhvi Dec 7, 2008 after India handed over to the FBI intercepts of telephone conversations between Lakhvi and the Mumbai attackers.
The FBI concluded that the intercepts were genuine and that Lakhvi was the handler of the Mumbai attackers.
Team DainikDisha