Prisoner rights

There are thousands of people in prison virtually for no reason. In Pakistan, the jails are overcrowded. During the ongoing crisis of Covid-19, jail inmates are at risk. The government should release those prisoners who have been awarded punishment of imprisonment for up to one year and should claim compensation in money instead of imprisonment. In the next three to four months, the government should impose money compensation instead of imprisonment for ongoing petty cases in which the limits for imprisonment are one year. In this way, the government will control the issue of overcrowding of inmates in jails.

The government should take serious notice of the living standard of prisoners at the earliest. It is the responsibility of the government to treat prisoners in a just manner no matter what crime they have done in the past. Under the current scenario, one infected prisoner will be able to infect the entire prison population within an hour.

Kalim Shahab Shama Khail

Swat