IHC orders release of 408 UTPs from Adiala

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered to conditionally release 408 prisoners from the Adiala Jail in a bid to avoid the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

At the outset of Tuesday’s hearing, the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration submitted an implementation report to the bench regarding the release of some 283 prisoners from the jail.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who is hearing the case, ordered to constitute a committee comprising officials nominated by the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) chief commissioner, the Islamabad Police Inspector General (IG) Aamir Zulfiqar Khan and the Anti-Narcotic Force (ANF) director-general in this regard.

This committee will convince the court to release certain prisoners in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce congestion in the jail.

CJ Minallah remarked that the suspects could pose a threat to society.  However, he added that this is an emergency and noted that similar steps had been taken in other countries, including the US.

The bench, however, maintained that they were only granting bail to under trial prisoners. Furthermore, the bench observed that it was inappropriate to keep women prisoners in jail during such a critical situation. CJ Minallah further noted that those booked under the narcotics act were not involved in violent incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 25^th, 2020.