Time well spent : Four districts get family rooms in jails

Prisoners will be allowed to stay with family members for three days in these spaces

LAHORE: The Punjab Prisons Department has established family rooms in four districts; Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi.

Punjab Prisons Inspector General Mian Farooq Nazir told The Express Tribune that construction of all family rooms was complete, except Rawalpindi. He added the remaining 10% would also have been completed if not for a delay in funds.

There IG said there were 54 rooms in every district and an inmate could spend three days with family members in such spaces. He added a prisoner would get such an opportunity after every four months. A proper safety mechanism has been devised for these family rooms. According to the system, biometric devices have been installed outside. The inmates will be allowed in after taking thumb impressions at those biometric machines.



Zakir Zikriya, a professor of criminology and sociology at Punjab University, told The Express Tribune that it was a positive step by the Punjab government. He endorsed it fully and added it was in accordance with modern human rights or Islamic Sharia.



“The prisoner is the individual who has committed a crime, not his family and children. Why should they be punished? If the wife of a prisoner does not meet her husband for 10 years, it is practically a divorce.”



He added even a criminal must not denied his or her basic human rights. “He has been denied his right to freedom by the state, but his other entitlements of citizenship, right to health facilities, education, food and family etc. were intact.  He stated if a prisoner remains in constant contact with his family, it is far easier for them to rejoin society after release.

Religious scholar Ziaul Haq Naqashbandi also appreciated the step, saying it was according to the teachings of Islam. “Spending time with family in jail will make him realise his imprisonment and punishment.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 6^th, 2017.