Pakistan-administered Kashmir District of Rawalkot On Sunday night, 20 prisoners escaped from the district jail, including the name of Ghazi Shahzad. According to former Special Secretary Home Kashmir Badar Munir, Ghazi Shehzad was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department.
Ghazi Shehzad belongs to village Gadala, 26 km away from Palindri district of Pakistani Kashmir. He was arrested near Hajira rest house on May 29, 2023 while returning Tetri note from Hajira area of Kashmir. Ghazi Shahzad has been booked under section 6ATA and section PC353 for the crime of terrorism and is pending in the courts.
Ghazi Shahzad’s full name is Shahzad Khan while the ‘jihadi name’ is Captain Omar Abdullah.
In an interview given to a local journalist Laiba Khurshid before his arrest, Shahzad Khan claimed that he had participated in the Kargil war and had also visited Indian-administered Kashmir, where he was arrested and imprisoned by Indian security forces. was given
According to a report of Indian news agency ‘The Indian Express’ dated October 12, 2010, Ghazi Shahzad was detained under the Public Safety Act from Raj Bagh in Kashmir. In an earlier interview on social media, Shahzad Khan said that he spent more than four and a half years in Srinagar Jail in Indian-administered Kashmir after his arrest.
Officials at the scene of the investigation at the Poonch District Jail in Rawalkot city, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, on June 30, 2024 (AFP)
According to local journalist Haris Qadeer, he was brought back to Pakistan via Wagah in an exchange of prisoners after being in an Indian jail.
After returning to Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Shahzad Khan started a political struggle and registered his political organization under the name of ‘United Movement’, after being elected as its general secretary, he participated in the general elections in 2021, but was unsuccessful. Didn’t happen.
Shahzad Khan announced in a press conference in May 2023 that ‘Pakistan-administered Kashmir will not allow any non-state political party to participate in the elections before the independence of Kashmir and the military leadership of Kashmir from the base camp (Kashmiri leadership ) will have.’
During this press conference, he announced the establishment of a military training camp from Poonch district of Kashmir, Sudhnuti, where he mentioned the arrangements for the formation and training of the veteran force.
A few days after this press conference, a video of his colleagues pitching a tent for the camp in the local forest also went viral on social media.
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After the video of the press conference held on May 3 and the making of the camp came to the fore, Shahzad Khan was arrested on May 29, 2023 along with three companions from Hajira, two days ago Shahzad Khan was also among the prisoners who escaped from jail. For their re-arrest, the police is conducting a search operation across the state and in Rawalkot city.
On 30 June 2024, a month before the jail escape incident, i.e. on 30 May, the Ministry of Home Affairs had requested the court through a letter that Rawalakot Jail was unsafe for other high-profile prisoners including Shehzad Khan and that he should can plan to escape at any time.
In response to this, the High Court had issued an order to the Anti-Terrorism Court, Rawalakot, that according to the letter of the Ministry of Interior, the cases of these persons should be transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Court, Mirpur. A letter was also written to the government for permission to shift to Mirpur.
After the escape, according to SSP Riyaz Mughal, seven members of the jail staff have been arrested and the investigation has been started, while the government has also set up an investigation committee to investigate the incident. It will present its recommendations in a few days.
According to Information Secretary Ansar Yaqoob, the four provinces and the police of Gilgit-Baltistan have also been alerted by the Kashmir government. Also, the Kashmir government has requested the Chief Justice to form a judicial commission for an impartial investigation of the incident.
The Government of Kashmir has also published a poster for the capture of these prisoners, offering a cash reward to anyone who helps in the capture of these prisoners, or informs about their presence, keeping the name confidential. will
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