It is important to bring serious reforms in Pakistan’s penal system.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prison system, inherited from the British during the colonial years as a humanitarian alternative to corporal punishment, has been left in a deplorable state for many years. The country consists of 114 prisons that differ in administrative level, function and size. Out of these, 22 hold the central position and have the capacity to house up to 1,000 prisoners each. However, due to the rise in crime rate, many prisons across the country are overcrowded. A 2019 government report states that Pakistan houses 77,275 prisoners while the total capacity is about 57,742. Rights activists claim that convicts, prisoners and juveniles are forced to stay in the same cell under unsanitary and filthy conditions. Around 50 prisoners are told to share a single restroom while none of them receive healthy food or clean water.
The spread of Covid-19 has made matters worse. More people are being arrested for not abiding by quarantine measures. The authorities were told from the very beginning that prisoners are at a high risk of being infected by the virus but no major steps have been taken. Recent news reports indicate that 47 prisoners in different jails of Punjab have tested positive for the virus. As the pandemic exacerbates, the government needs to make sure that the fundamental rights of prisoners are not being denied. Worldwide, countries such as Iran and India are taking drastic measures to reduce the risk of pandemic and have subsequently released certain prisoners on a temporary basis.
It is important to bring serious reforms in Pakistan’s penal system. We need to think about prisons as correctional facilities rather than systems of punishment for people that are neglected and shunned by society.
M Shahjahan Memon
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2020.
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