Central Prison Haripur: Locals protest against installed security jammers

Say they should be restricted to prison vicinity only, complain about traffic jams

HARIPUR: Residents of various localities surrounding Central Prison Haripur protested on Wednesday against mobile phone jammers that had been set up at the facility.

They said the jammer frequently interrupted cellular network services.

Dozens of residents of Mohallah Afzal Abad, Railway Station, Pir Colony, Pathan Colony, Raja Abad gathered in Teachers Training School ground near the DC’s office and shouted slogans against jail authorities.

Janoobi neighborhood council nazim Imran Khan Alizai said prison authorities installed mobile phone jammers in Haripur jail in 2014 for security purposes. However, this has adversely affected services of all mobile companies.

“The extended range of mobile jammers means people cannot use their phones conveniently,” Alizai said. “Many of our dear ones live in different cities or countries and we cannot communicate with them.” He added people cannot even call their neighbours in cases of emergencies. “The jail authorities have infringed upon the civil liberties of residents of the surrounding localities in the name of security,” Alizai said.

He added the violation of human rights was being committed inside and outside prisons now.Alizai demanded range of jammers be reduced to the vicinity of jail alone.

Further grievances

Speaking on the occasion, district council member Qazi Muhammad Raza and union council nazim Haji Muhammad Raza said prison authorities had promised to shift inmates charged with militancy and extremism to Mardan prison.

However, there has been an unaccountable delay in shifting criminals even though work on Mardan jail has been completed and the decision was taken at the provincial level. They also said jail authorities have diverted all traffic towards Afzal Abad-Bani Road, blocking the main Central Jail road. Residents of all nearby areas are stuck in gridlocks on a daily basis.

Qazi and Haji said when traffic was diverted towards Afzal Abad Road, jail authorities announced they will allocate a piece of land to build a 32-feet wide road to create an alternative route. However, the prison authorities have not yet given access to vehicles on the proposed road.

Negotiation phase

The demonstrators threatened to continue their protest if their problems were left unaddressed.

Negotiations took place later when the deputy commissioner announced he will write to the home secretary, Haripur jail superintendent and Hazara commissioner to resolve these grievances once and for all.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2016.