State of prisons: 3 is a crowd, in cells for 1

Report cites endemic abuse, overcrowding and political interference; calls for civilian-led reforms.


Express October 14, 2011

KARACHI:


Jails in Pakistan are “the hatcheries of terrorists, militants and other species of criminals” where “prisoners have become more powerful than the jailers”. These are just a few of the complaints of prisons officials cited in a new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG) on prisons in Pakistan.


The report explores in detail the state of prisons in the country, the lack of enforcement of relevant laws and the need for reforms.

The report highlights political interference in jails, the violation of rules when promoting prison officials and the lack of specialised training for prison staff. Delays in court hearings and corruption among both prison staff and police further exacerbate the situation. In turn, this has led to overcrowded jails with officials unable to utilise resources effectively or follow rules for segregating prisoners.  A retired inspector general of prisons told ICG: “Overcrowding is so great in some prisons that they lie in their cells on top of each other.” A former chief justice of the Lahore High Court said that he found nine inmates to a cell, some sleeping with their feet on others’ chests.

These overcrowded jails are already poorly constructed, have no capacity to control temperatures and lack adequate medical care.

Abuse is also endemic. Prisoners rarely complain for fear of physical retribution or being arbitrarily transferred, which would take them away from their families or friends in jail, often their only support network.

The ICG report also connects the dots between poor conditions, non-implementation of rules and limited resources. Imprisoned militants are easily able to use cell phones, maintain their networks and provide support to their organisations. For example, prison officials in Quetta disclosed that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi maintained contact with its detained members through sympathetic prison staff and was also recruiting other inmates. Prison officials also complain that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has resisted their moves to install jammers and that they had no closed-circuit television cameras to monitor prisoners.

Since Pakistan does not have a single high-security prison for suspected terrorists, and prisons officials believe the ‘mixing’ of prisoners is paving the way for radicalisation in overcrowded jails, including of juveniles.

ICG also calls for increased civilian involvement in prison reforms. While the military has established a number of rehabilitation centres, extrajudicial killings and illegal detentions allegedly carried out by the military and intelligence agencies and collective punishments (such as under the FCR) are exploited by militant groups for recruitment. In conclusion, the report states: “Ultimately, improving prison administration, conditions and policies must be part of a broader shift to reinforce civilian law enforcement and expand the writ of government, which has steadily shrunk as the military has assumed greater control over policing, through both official and unofficial means.”

Adding to chorus of critics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the ICG report recommends that the Action (in Aid of Civil Power) ordinances for the federally and provincially administered tribal areas be repealed. “President Zardari’s decision in June 2011 to provide retroactive legal cover for the military’s violation of constitutional rights and to extend to the armed forces virtually unlimited powers of arrest and detention set a dangerous precedent and should immediately be revoked.” It also recommends replacing the Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) with updated criminal legislation and states that the Supreme Court of Pakistan should declare the “parallel, discriminatory legal system” of Nizam-e-Adl as unconstitutional.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14th, 2011.

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