Early resolution of overcrowding in jails urged

Islamabad : Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on Friday stressed resolving the most immediate issue of overcrowding in jails by speedy construction of barracks and particularly the early completion of the ICT model prison project.

The federal minister said that while chairing a meeting of the Implementation Commission on Prison Reforms as constituted by the Islamabad High Court in the Ministry of Human Rights. The meeting was attended by the Secretary Ministry of Human Rights, Director General (Human Rights), Joint Secretary Ministry of Interior, IG Prison KP and Punjab, and other senior officers and representatives from the Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of NHSR&C, the Chief Commissioner Office, Islamabad and provincial home departments.

The Implementation Commission reviewed the progress in the implementation of reforms recommended for grievance redressal mechanisms in prisons across Pakistan; the issues of overcrowding and discriminatory treatment of prisoners as well as the phenomenon of custodial torture, rampant corruption, and the steps taken by the respective Home Departments to sensitize and train the prison staff.

In the beginning, Secretary of Human Rights briefed the participants on the agenda and desired from the jail authorities for early submission of the reports on reforms introduced on the recommendations of the commission with consolidated data for its onward submission to the IHC. Later on, DG of Human Rights apprised the commission of the recent programs of training conducted by the Ministry of Human Rights for jail staff in provinces. The Implementation Commission also discussed the issue of overcrowded barracks; changes in the oversight mechanism for tackling the menace of corruption and breaches of jail

manual and rules and individual complaint management system for redressal of individual complaints.

Provincial prison authorities showed their concern over the increasing number of under-trial prisoners due to the delayed judicial procedures that were the major cause behind the administrative problems emerging in the jails. In his concluding remarks, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada said that Jail is the provincial subject and Provincial Home departments have to make rules, regulations, and manuals in conformity with international standards and commitments. He added that Prison departments have always been taken as disciplined and the most vital departments attached to the overall judicial system in the country but now they have been badly affected by the recurrent interferences. He advised that home departments should be allocated sufficient funds to meet the needs of an increasing number of inmates especially to tackle the huge number of under-trial prisoners.