Twenty inmates, including some accused of terrorism, has escaped from a jail in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on Sunday. One inmate was killed during the breakout.
According to Badar Munir from the regional interior ministry, the inmates used a revolver to hold a guard hostage. It is not clear if the weapon was taken from jail officials or smuggled in.
The escape took place at the Poonch district jail in Rawalakot, about 110 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Waheed Ali Gillani, the inspector general of Kashmir prisons, confirmed that 20 inmates escaped, one of whom was killed in the crossfire, while the other 19 remain at large.
Riaz Mughal, a senior police official, said that police have sealed off the entry and exit points of Rawalakot and are searching for the escapees.
Pakistani prisons are often overcrowded and in poor condition, with issues of corruption and human rights abuses. The slow judicial process also means many prisoners stay behind bars for long periods. There have been several mass jailbreaks organised by militant groups in Pakistan, such as the 2012 breakout in Bannu, where 400 prisoners escaped.
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