Convicts freed from jail on fake orders

Police have registered a case, four months after two convicts serving 25-year sentences for drug offences were released from Zhob Central Jail on the basis of fake court orders. According to jail department officials, the two convicts, identified as Abdul Salam and Amanullah, were serving 25-year prison terms in separate drug cases at Zhob jail. They were released on May 30 after jail authorities acted on purported court orders that were later found to be fake. Officials said the forged release orders were handed over to a security official posted at the jail gate by an unidentified person around sunset. The official allegedly failed to properly verify the documents, resulting in the illegal release of the two convicts. A case has now been registered at City Police Station, Zhob, against the two illegally released convicts and their unidentified facilitators. Meanwhile, the Prisons Department has suspended Central Jail Zhob Superintendent Habibullah, Deputy Superintendent and a clerk for alleged negligence and dereliction of duty. The case has been handed over to the Crimes Branch, which has launched efforts to trace and re-arrest the escaped convicts and identify those involved in facilitating their release. Separately, the Jaffar Express travelling from Peshawar to Quetta was stopped at Sibi railway station after arriving there six hours behind schedule, with railway authorities citing darkness and security concerns. According to railway officials, the train reached Sibi after a delay of around six hours.