Prison plot

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=152608

Friday, December 19, 2008

The extraordinary tale of how Omar Sheikh, the man sentenced to death in 2003 for the kidnapping and murder of US journalist Daniel Pearl, from his cell in Hyderabad Jail, plotted the assassination of former president Pervez Musharraf is, to say the least, hair-raising. According to the story, broken by this newspaper, Sheikh planned the killing using militants linked to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a defunct militant group based in Punjab. He was able to hold detailed discussions with these militants over his cell phone and was also in touch with Ataur Rehman, another person held in the Daniel Pearl case, who is currently detained at Sukkur Jail. A search of Sheikh's jail cell, after an investigation began into threatening calls to Musharraf from Hyderabad Jail, led to the discovery of no less than 18 different SIM cards, several mobile phones and chargers. Similar communication devices were found from the cell of Ataur Rehman. Even from jail, these convicts seem able to plan further acts of violence. Evidence is emerging that Omar Sheikh may indeed have also played a part in other crimes.

The real question that arises is how he has been able to acquire so much freedom to operate at will from within jail and engage in criminal activity that involved high-profile assassinations. It seems obvious that some members of the jail staff at least have assisted him. Such leeway to a man sentenced to a solitary cell cannot otherwise be explained. The superintendent of Hyderabad Jail has now been suspended, but this seems to be a case of acting too late. Previously too, in the months following his detention, stories had surfaced about Omar Sheikh conducting meetings in prison to win over members of staff and other inmates to his cause. He is reported to have been remarkably successful in this. There were also previous accounts of his success in maintaining contacts with the outside world. The dangers are obviously immense. A full investigation needs to be made into how a prisoner has been able to act with such freedom and to flout all rules of detention. The connivance of people in key places seems obvious. The key is to avoid a repetition. It is clear the highly educated Omar Sheikh remains one of the most dangerous men on our soil. It is also rumoured that it is his links in high places that have enabled him so far to escape the gallows. He must now be prevented from taking more lives by continuing to lead militant operations even from behind jail bars.