Adiala jail’s superintendent, deputy removed

Replacement ordered after jail pictures of Nawaz Sharif, Hanif Abbasi go viral

RAWALPINDI: In a surprising move, senior staff at the Adiala Central Jail in Rawalpindi were replaced overnight on Saturday. The abrupt transfers appear to have been undertaken after pictures of deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif and incarcerated Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Hanif Abbasi leaked from the jail.

The pictures, which went viral on social media, showed the men in poor condition inside the jail.

According to a notification, Adiala Central Jail Superintendent Mansoor Akbar replaced the previous jail superintendent.

The Deputy Superintendent Malik Liaquat was also suspended as Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

Both officers have been directed to report to the Punjab Prisons Department.

Judicial-Deputy Superintendent Hasan Mujtaba has been given the additional charge of both offices at the central jail until permanent replacements are named.

There are rumours amongst jail officials that a provincial minister was unhappy with both officials after pictures of the opposition leader were leaked which is why they were removed.

However, some of within the department say that action was taken against both officials owing to complaints of corruption against them.

A senior jail official told Daily Express that they only received transfer orders without any clarification regarding the reason for removing the two officials.

Earlier, theft in the ration for prisoners was discovered under the same administration. However, senior officials were cleared in a subsequent inquiry.

Similarly, a case of shutting down mobile phone jammers at the time of Nawaz’s release was also reported to have taken place under the same administration in which the involved inmate was shifted to another provincial jail while the departmental action was taken the jail employees.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 18^th, 2019.