Pakistani police thwart alleged militant plot on jail holding Imran Khan

Pakistani police said on Thursday that they thwarted a major militant attack on the Adiala jail that houses ex-prime minister Imran Khan.

The police said they apprehended three suspected Afghan militants who were plotting an assault on the high-security prison located in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. “Adiala Jail has been saved from major destruction, three terrorists have been arrested with heavy weapons and ammunition,” Rawalpindi Capital Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani said in a statement. According to the statement, police seized a map of Adiala Jail, automatic weapons, hand grenades, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from the arrested suspects.

Security agencies are interrogating the suspects at an undisclosed location, while police and other law enforcement agencies are conducting search operations in and around Adiala, added the officer.

Khan, the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose backed candidates secured most seats in the Feb. 8 elections, is serving jail terms after courts convicted him in three different cases. He survived an assassination attempt in November 2022 while he was leading an anti-government rally, months after a parliamentary vote removed him in April of that year.