Islamabad, Nov 4: In a major security breach, two terrorists lodged in a Pakistani jail over a 2008 plot against ex-President Pervez Musharraf made a call to a militant commander in the tribal belt and discussed dispatching of suicide bombers to Lahore, throwing authorities into a tizzy.
A Pakistani intelligence agency intercepted the call made by the terrorists from the Kot Lakhpat Jail of Lahore to the militant commander in Khyber, a media report said here today.
The two men, who were allegedly involved in a terror plot that targeted Musharraf in 2008, were identified in a report prepared by the intelligence agency as Ibrahim Ilyas and Qari Waqas. They were shifted to the Lahore prison from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi two months ago for security concerns.
The intercepted call has raised concerns among authorities because four circulars were sent to jail officials by the federal Interior Ministry and Punjab's Home Department this year to stop clandestine communications from prisons, The Express Tribune reported.
The Interior Ministry and Home Department had asked jail authorities to make sure that jammers were installed in all prisons, particularly in areas where high-profile terrorists are held so that they could not communicate with anyone outside.
According to the intelligence agency's report, Waqas and Ilyas made a call to a man identified as Babar on October 21. Babar reportedly told them that suicide bombers had entered Lahore and “soon you will get good news”.
Following the call, security was put on high alert across Punjab.
