DERA ISMAIL KHAN // Only a handful of badly armed guards were posted at a Pakistani prison assaulted by Taliban militants the prison chief said yesterday.
The 35 guards, only 10 of whom had weapons, faced 150 attackers. Some were so scared during the assault on Monday night that they hid in sewer pipes, and others opened up one of the prison's main gates after the militants threatened them, said a senior government official.
These details are likely to spark further criticism of the government, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where the prison was located. The militants freed over 250 prisoners during the attack and killed more than a dozen people.
"Increasingly, the militant network appears an organised, emboldened and well-armed force running rings around a sluggish, even inept, security network," said an editorial in Pakistan's leading English newspaper, Dawn.
The Taliban have smuggled over two dozen militants they broke out of the prison in the town of Dera Ismail Khan to one of the group's stronghold in the country's tribal region, two commanders said.
The deadly raid was code-named "Freedom from Death", cost 11.5 million rupees (Dh422,000) and took six months to plan, said the commanders. It is unclear how so many heavily armed militants were able to travel unhindered in vehicles and motorcycles to the walls of the prison, especially given the intelligence indicating a possible attack. Only 10 of the 35 guards at the prison were armed, and some of their AK-47 assault rifles were not even in good shape, said the head of the prison, Ghulam Rabbani. He said the armed guards fought valiantly until they ran out of bullets. But the militants were armed with bombs and grenades, as well as guns. "The 10 of my men did their best," said Mr Rabbani. "They fought bravely."
But a senior official in the provincial government, Ali Amin Gandapur, criticised the guards, saying some of them were found hiding in sewer pipes and drains and others opened a main gate for the militants after they were threatened.
"This is such a shame," said Mr Gandapur, minister of revenue. "I promise they all have to lose their uniforms."
Mr Rabbani defended his men, saying unarmed guards had a right to hide since they were tasked with controlling the prisoners, not protecting the jail from attack. He held a meeting with city administrators the day of the attack to discuss the threat to the prison, but they were not prepared when the raid happened, he said.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has suspended 27 police and prison officials after the attack, including 22 members of an antiterrorist squad who were supposed act as a quick response force, but failed to do so, provincial officials said.
Authorities have managed to capture 41 of the 252 prisoners who escaped from the prison, said police official Salahuddin Kundi. There were 482 inmates in the prison at the time of the attack. A curfew is still in place in Dera Ismail Khan as authorities search for more of the fugitives.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
