Procedural errors? No fake prisoners in any jails, claims home secretary

Ansar Burney Trust had filed a petition in the SHC against wrongful detention of 41 inmates.

KARACHI: The home department has refuted allegations regarding the presence of more than 40 fake prisoners in different jails of the province, arguing that some "procedural errors" had made their status doubtful.

An additional chief secretary for home took this plea before a bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), which was hearing a petition against the alleged unlawful detention of 41 fake prisoners in the province's detention facilities.

Ansar Burney Trust International had named the prime minister's principal secretary, the Sindh chief minister, the minister for prisons department, additional chief secretary for home and the chiefs of Sindh police and prisons police as respondents.

The trust submitted that during a briefing about the law and order situation in Karachi, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was informed that NADRA's verification process had found 41 fake prisoners languishing in jails across the province instead of the actual criminals. It argued that the detention of innocent persons was against their individual liberty while the actual accused had been set free by the authorities due to which the law and order situation was worsening in the city.

"It is crystal clear that either negligently or willfully, the real culprits have been given a free hand and liberty to prey on innocent people under the leadership of corrupt government officials, who are bent on destroying the peaceful environment of the province," argued the lawyer representing the trust. The court was pleaded to order the authorities to immediately set free and compensate the innocent people.

Filing his comments on Tuesday, the additional chief secretary for home said that on the direction of the interior ministry, an inquiry committee was constituted to probe into the matter.

The home secretary said that the committee had thoroughly verified the data, including their citizenship documents, records of the police and relevant courts, and found that none of the prisoners were fake.

Procedural errors were responsible for the misunderstanding, he maintained, pleading to the court to dismiss the petition as there was no fake prisoner in any jail.

Headed by Justice Ghulam Sarwar Korai, the bench however provided the copy of report of the home secretary to the lawyer of the trust to file their objections, if any, on the next date of hearing.