RAWALPINDI, Sept 22: As many as 49 prisoners allegedly involved in high profile terrorism cases, including five American nationals, have been shifted from the Central Adiala Jail to the high security prison of Central Jail Faisalabad, it has been learnt.

According to a prison official, more than 60 prisoners involved in terrorism cases are still languishing in the Central Jail Adiala amid tight security.

He said the 49 prisoners, who were shifted to Faisalabad on different occasions, were involved in various terrorist attacks such as those on Gen (retired) Parvez Musharraf and former premier Shaukat Aziz.

In addition, terrorist Dr Usman was also shifted to Faisalabad. He had been convicted in a deadly attack on the army headquarters Rawalpindi in October 2009.

In addition, five American nationals, who were allegedly involved in the Sargodha Airbase attack, were also shifted. They were arrested by the Pakistani law enforcement agencies in December 2009 during a raid at a house in Sargodha.

According to the police, laptops, CDs and other items were recovered from the five Americans who were described to be in their 20s when arrested.

The prison official said the 49 prisoners were kept in a high security barrack in the Central Jail Faisalabad after they were shifted.

When contacted, a senior official of the prison department confirmed that all 49 high profile prisoners had been shifted first to Mianwali Jail and then to Faisalabad.

However, when asked why the prisoners were shifted, he said he was not aware of the reason but security concern was a probable cause.

Responding to a question, he said the government had not requested the release of any high profile prisoner when talks were being held with Afghanistan for the release of Afghan Taliban prisoner, Mullah Baradar.

Surprise checking of Adiala Jail

Meanwhile, a 12-member army team comprised of bomb disposal experts carried out a surprise checking of the high security barracks in Central Jail Adiala on Saturday.

Sniffing dogs and other gadgets were used to detect explosives or devices that could be used for terrorism. However, no such material was found.

When contacted, Malik Mushtaq Awan, the superintendent of the jail, said the army team’s visit was a routine matter and was not related to any specific information.

He said the team, in its report presented to the prison official, stated that no explosives or cell phones were found from the jail.