Adviser says Mansehra Prison has developed cracks

MANSEHRA: Advisor to Chief Minister on Prisons Malik Qasim Khan on Tuesday said that Mansehra District Jail could collapse anytime and cause loss of life as the   building had developed serious cracks during last year’s earthquake.

Speaking to reporters after paying a visit to the prison, he  vowed to take up the matter with Chief Minster Pervez Khattak on priority basis. He added that almost all barracks housing as many as 700 inmates could cave in anytime if reconstruction work was not started on war-footing.

Jail Superintendent Abdul Qayyum also accompanied Malik Qasim Khan during visit to different parts of the near-to-collapse prison building. Talking to the inmates, the advisor to chief minister said that overcrowding was a major issue being faced by the prisons across province.

Despite the fact that Mansehra District Jail has a capacity to house 485 prisoners, it accommodates over 700 inmates as prisoners from Abbottabad jail were also stuffed into the already packed penitentiary as reconstruction work was underway there.

The official blamed the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority for the slow pace of reconstruction work in Abbottabad jail.He said construction of 13 more jails in the province was underway to address the issue of overcrowding.