Punishing, not rehabilitating: K-P govt asked to explain poor condition of prisoners

PHC issues notice to IG prisons, Swabi prison chief, govt

The inspector general of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) prisons has been asked to explain what basic facilities are available for prisoners at penitentiaries of the province and why the condition of these centres is so poor.

This was directed by a two-judge bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC), comprising Justice Syed Afsar Shah and Justice Muhammad Ayub Khan, as they heard a petition filed by a former death row inmate.

Sajjad Ahmed, who spent 15 years on death row before being acquitted by the Supreme Court, had claimed that he witnessed the unhygienic conditions in overcrowded prisons of the province.

He further contended that jails should be rechristened as centres of reformation where prisoners are rehabilitated instead of being punished.



Filing through his lawyer Khurshid Khan, Ahmed argued that ‘grave human rights violations’ were taking place in the jails of the country, especially those located in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Khurshid said that conditions in jails were ‘pathetic’ and that most of the inmates were suffering from a host of diseases. He added that the situation was exacerbated by the absence of any medication or clean drinking water.

As an example, he pointed to the situation in the Swabi prison where during a recent screening, the authorities found that of the 126 inmates diagnosed, 12 inmates had tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Another 50 were found to be suffering from hepatitis.

He added that it was imperative that further tests are carried out at the Swabi prison which, despite having a maximum capacity of holding 125 prisoners, currently houses 640.  “There is no qualified doctor present in the Swabi district prison,” the petitioner claimed.

“Due to lack of unhygienic conditions of the prisons, almost every prisoner is suffering.”

He added that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that basic health facilities and other amenities are provided in the jails.



Khurshid reminded the court that his client had witnessed most of these issues first hand during his internment in the province’s jails.

The proof of the issues that arise while being imprisoned, Khurshid said, was that when his client was finally released from jail, he was suffering from kidney disease and other health issues.

This, he said, had prompted his client to dedicate his freedom to working for the welfare of inmates.

Apart from urging the court to address issues in jails, he sought data on prisoners lodged in different jails of the province and details of the facilities they are being provided.

After hearing the arguments of the petitioner, the court issued notices to the K-P Inspector General of Prisons, Swabi District Jail superintendent, and the K-P government were put on notice to explain the facilities being provided to prisoners at penitentiaries across the province at the next hearing of the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2018.