No compromise on prisoners’ security: IG Prisons

LAHORE: Some 11,500 prisoners will not be able to meet their relatives due to the ban on meetings following security threats to prisons in Punjab.

According to the data from the Prisons Department of Punjab, there are 5,000 under-trial prisoners, including PTI founder chairman Imran Khan, in Adiala Jail Rawalpindi. They are besides 2,500 prisoners, including 200 women.

Out of the 1,200 in Dera Ghazi Khan Jail, there are 300 inmates and 900 under-trial prisoners, including seven women.

At present, the total number of prisoners in Mianwali jail is 1,800, 600 are prisoners and 1,200 under-trial prisoners. There are 12 female prisoners here. District Jail Attock has 100 inmates and 700 under-trial prisoners out of 800, including 14 women.

Meetings were banned in prisons for several months due to the lockdown during the corona pandemic.

When contacted, IG Prisons Mian Farooq Nazir said there can be no compromise on the life of 11,500 prisoners in jails. He said measures like ban on meetings and security audit are taken after receiving serious threats. He said apart from Dera Ghazi Khan’s jailbreak in 1997, several terrorist attacks have taken place on sensitive facilities, including airbases and police stations, during the last six months. “Security of prisoners is more important than the meetings,” he remarked. Mian Farooq said the meetings will be restored after completing the security audit in two weeks.