Escaped prisoners continue to return to Malir jail

Authorities confirmed on Tuesday that at least 10 more prisoners — who had escaped during a jailbreak triggered by an earthquake in the port city — have returned to Landhi Jail in Malir district over the three days of Eid ul Adha.

A major jailbreak occurred at Karachi’s Malir Jail when an earthquake evacuation turned chaotic, allowing at least 213 prisoners to escape. The incident happened during tremors, when jail staff moved inmates into the courtyard for safety. However, in the confusion, many inmates broke free. According to Jail Superintendent Shahab Siddiqui, several inmates returned on their own, while security forces arrested others. So far, 149 inmates have been recaptured, but 66 are still missing.

The situation worsened last week when inmates from two prison circles attacked security guards during repeated tremors. Frontier Corps (FC) tried to stop them with batons and aerial firing, but failed to control the crowd. In the clash, one prisoner died, and three FC officials along with one jail staffer were injured. In the chaos, prisoners damaged the jail’s IT room, broke doors, and destroyed servers and equipment. Authorities launched a joint search operation involving police, Rangers, FC, SSU, and RRF. Around 100 inmates were caught shortly after the incident.

Taking strict action, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah removed the inspector general (IG) of prisons, the deputy IG, and the jail superintendent for negligence. He termed it one of the biggest jailbreaks in recent years.