Hundreds of inmates without treatment in prisons

642 prisoners in K-P suffering from various diseases need to be treated properly

PESHAWAR:

Prisons in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) province lack treatment facilities for young prisoners suffering from psychological disorders and the provincial government has failed to start any project for their rehabilitation so far.

According to a report of National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), there are at least 251 such prisoners in K-P prison who suffer from psychological disorders and they are kept in Peshawar, Haripur, Bannu, Kohat and DI Khan jails and these inmates are involved in heinous crimes.

According to a report of Home and Tribal Affairs Department, around 75 percent of inmates in the prisons across the province are under trials.“There are 38 prisons in the K-P province, housing around 8,984 under trial prisoners including 8,501 and 350 women.

The number of convicted prisoners is 2,589 including 30 women and 15 juvenile prisoners,” said an official of the prison while talking to The Express Tribune.

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According to the Prison Reforms in Pakistan, there are at least 600 prisoners in jails across the country suffering from mental ailments who need to be properly treated. Similarly, in K-P the number of these prisoners stand at 235 as per the report.

There are around 208 patients suffering from hepatitis, 39 from aids, 27 from TB while the total number of inmates in jails who has any kinds of disese stand at 642 and up to date treatment facilities are not available in-house to treat them.

Talking to The Express Tribune Voice of Prisoners President, Noor Alam Khan Advocate said that the young prisoners are suffering from a variety of mental and psychological disorders and this push them further deep into the world of crimes once they are released.

He said that government should take action immediately and recruit specialists doctors for psychological support therapy and other mental disorders so that to make the rehabilitation of the convicted and under-trial prisoners possible.

“If these prisoners are treated properly and rehabilitated, they would become useful members of the society after their release otherwise they will have no option but to commit crimes due to lack of options,” he said.

Special Assistant to CM on Prisons, Shafiullah said that the government has a comprehensive reform agenda for the prisons. He said that they were planning the construction of a well equipped jail in each district of the province including the merged tribal district where treatment facilities will also be available.