‘129 Afghan women, 178 kids in jails’

Information minister claims viral photo of children not from any prison of Karachi

KARACHI:

At least 129 under-trial Afghan female illegal immigrants and 178 children are present in Sindh’s jails and being provided facilities available to the rest of prisoners. The children have not been arrested, they live with their mothers who are facing legal action, Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said Friday.

Besides Afghan, there are female illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, Nigeria and other countries locked up at various prisons in the province, he said.

However, Sindh’s cabinet members denied a viral photo of jailed children is from a Karachi jail, saying that rumors are being spread on social media against the prisons in the province.

“First it was claimed on social media that the picture was snapped at Landhi Juvenile Prison, Malir District, but when checked, we found it was not Landhi jail,” the cabinet members, including Sharjeel Inam Memon, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Aijaz Jakhrani and Fahad Haroon, told a joint news conference at the Sindh Archives Complex on Friday.

“Then it was claimed that the picture was taken at Women’s Prison, Karachi, but when checked, this also turned out to be incorrect,” they added at the press conference where DIG Prisons Sheeba Shah was also present.

However, the Tweet of the lawyer who posted the image on the mini-blogging site Twitter clearly says that the children are locked up in the Bakhshi Khana a lockup for prisoners coming for jail to Karachi City Courts for case hearings. It does not mention the word ‘jail’.

Memon said that the photo was not at any jail in Sindh. “There are 129 under-trial Afghan women and 178 children in Sindh’s jails. The children have not been arrested, they live with their mothers in the jails,” he said. According to the prison rules, female prisoners are allowed to keep children up to 7 years of age with them. When a child’s parents are in jail and there is no one to take care of them, they can stay with their mother as per rules.

“Illegal immigrants are not allowed to live in any country. They are arrested according to the law everywhere in the world as per international practice,” Memon said. “These illegal immigrants were arrested and produced in the court of law and now they are in jail on court orders.”

He added that this was not exclusive to Afghan immigrants as women from Nigeria, Bangladesh and other countries were also imprisoned in Sindh. The law equally applies to all illegal immigrants. The courts have sentenced 54 women to two-month jail terms and they will complete their sentences in the first week of January. After serving out their sentences, these women will be deported with the help of federal government.

On this occasion, videos and photos of Juvenile Prison were also shown to the media. Memon said that the best environment was being provided to children in the jail. They are provided with the best food, education and health facilities, he added and invited media representatives to visit the Juvenile Jail along with the Prisons Advisor after the press conference and show the nation that no one is adversely treated in the jails of Sindh.

During the press conference, the minister also showed a video of a women’s jail in Karachi where children can be seen reading books and playing at what looked like a school located inside the prison.

They study, they are provided food and medical facilities, Memon said adding, “e give open access to the media and they can visit these children with the DIG.”

The minister said that on December 9, 2022, a delegation of the National Commission for Human Rights, headed by its Chairperson Rabia Jawaria Agha, visited the women’s and children’s prison where they recorded their impressions in the ‘Visitors Book’ and praised the facilities and environment there. On this occasion, Advisor for Prisons Aijaz Jakhrani said that the food being provided to the prisoners in Sindh’s jails was better than all prisons of the country. “The food given to the prisoners is also served to the prison staff,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2022.