More than 200 prisoners escaped from Malir Jail in Karachi overnight after being moved from their cells during earthquake tremors, officials said Tuesday, in what is being described as one of the largest jailbreaks in Pakistan’s recent history.
According to Kashif Abbasi, a senior police official, 216 inmates fled the prison after guards evacuated them from their cells for safety during the quake. Once outside, a group of prisoners reportedly overwhelmed the guards, seized their weapons, and opened fire, prompting chaos and mass escape.
At least 78 escapees have been recaptured, while roughly 130 remain at large, Abbasi told the Associated Press. Police said that operations are ongoing to track down and arrest those still missing.
In the ensuing unrest, one prisoner was killed and three security personnel were injured during a shootout as law enforcement attempted to reapprehend escapees.
Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, the Home Minister for Sindh province, confirmed the details during a live televised statement, noting that the mass escape occurred during the emergency evacuation meant to protect inmates from the earthquake. Lanjar described the incident as “one of the largest prison breaks in the country’s history.”
Authorities stressed that none of the prisoners who escaped were convicted of terrorism-related offenses or affiliated with extremist groups. However, security has been heightened at other detention facilities across the region as a precaution.
Jailbreaks are uncommon in Pakistan due to tightened security measures introduced after a major 2013 prison attack in Dera Ismail Khan, when hundreds of prisoners—many of them militants — escaped following a Pakistani Taliban assault.
With input from AP News, Reuters, Al Jazeera
