In overcrowded Adiala: Nawaz and family got ‘better’ treatment

NCHR report on Adyala Jail finds funds from Punjab govt being spent on federal prisoners

ISLAMABAD: Despite the fact that the Adiala Jail faces the usual problem of overcrowding in jails, a select group of prisoners such as deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and two members of his family received ‘better’ facilities, a report has found.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Captain Safdar had interned in the jail for two months before they were released on September 19 after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had suspended the sentences issued in the Avenfield case.



During his time in the historic jail — which has seen a number of high profile inmates including former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, Nawaz himself for two previous terms, model Ayyan Ali in the money laundering case and former Punjab governor’s assassin Mumtaz Qadri — the deposed premier had complained that he was not being provided with the facilities he was entitled to and had even raised the matter in court.

To review this, a five-member team of the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) comprising Chaudhry Muhammad Shafique, Fazila Aliani, Razaur Rehman Asad, Zoya Shabbir and Ghulam Muhammad had visited the prison.

In their report, the NCHR observed that contrary to the perception, former prime minister Nawaz was provided all the basic facilities under the ‘B-Class’ (Better class).

The report, available with The Express Tribune, reveals that although the B-Class inmates are not entitled to air conditioners, Nawaz was provided with this facility following a recommendation from his doctors.

The team also visited the cells where Maryam and her husband Safdar were kept. Safdar told the visiting team that while he was being provided all the facilities as per the jail manual, he was not allowed to meet either Nawaz or Maryam and claimed that this was a violation of the jail’s rules.

Meanwhile, the jail’s superintendent told the NCHR team that the government does not provide them with sufficient funds for carrying out maintenance in the prison or for the provision of other facilities.

“Currently, with the help of philanthropists, basic necessities of the jail have been met to some extent such as fans, water-borne, kitchen,” he told the NCHR team.

An analysis of the prison’s budget by the NCHR team showed that no budget had been allocated for the maintenance of the prison.

The jail superintendent further revealed that the government did not authorise the jail authorities to conduct any tests which dealt with age determination of inmates.

Moreover, he lamented that the law was being exploited by juveniles and female prisoners since people use them to commit various heinous crimes including murder and drug smuggling.

The NCHR team was also told about the overcrowding in the jail, primarily because all the prisoners of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) are brought to Adiala since there is no prison in the federal capital.



Hence, the superintendent said, the budget allocated by the Punjab government for prisoners of the province was being spent on federal convicts and nowhere was this truer than Nawaz, Captain Safdar and Maryam.

Additionally, there were a number of convicts and inmates from different provinces, especially Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The NCHR recommended addressing the overcrowding in the jail, funds allocation and determining the age of the prisoner when they are handed over to the jail authorities through valid identification documents or tests such as Ossification or Panorax during the medical checkup.

Moreover, the rights body suggested that prisons should be linked with the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) so that a development budget can be awarded to prisons.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 19^th, 2018.