With the Punjab government indicating once again that it will build model jails in the province, it has perhaps forgotten that it is yet to fulfil promises of building rehabilitation schools inside existing prisons to help the juvenile incarcerated population integrate back into society; once their sentence is served.
There are two prisons solely for juvenile offenders in Punjab, one in Faisalabad and the other in Bahawalpur, and under trial or convicted children were sent here so that they could receive appropriate counselling to deter them from a life of crime once they left.
However, the Borstal Institution and Juvenile Jail Faisalabad, was shut down last year after its walls caved in, which has left the Borstal Institution and Juvenile Jail Bahawalpur, as the sole prison for underage offenders.
Consequently, catering to the rising juvenile wrongdoer population in the province, which desperately needs to be educated and given soft skills whilst serving their sentence, has become a challenge.
Acknowledging the issue as a grave one, Special Secretary for the Home Department of Punjab, Fazl-ur-Rehman, said, “we have written to the government to reopen rehabilitation schools inside jails.”
When pointed out that such letters had a history of falling on deaf ears, the Special Secretary informed that apart from reopening the jail schools, there were new schools under the works in Sahiwal and Bahawalpur, which would aid the rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. However, when asked for a date on the completion, Rehman did not say much other than “soon.”
While it is hard to estimate how soon will soon be, as per documents obtained by The Express Tribune, more than 600 children are currently imprisoned in 43 prisons of Punjab, out of which 510 are under-trial and 119 are convicted.
With only one dedicated juvenile prison and a dearth of jail schools, these accused and convicted underage offenders have to live with adult offenders, which is detrimental to their prospects of living a life free of crime, once they are out of incarceration.
“Unless these juvenile offenders are given appropriate counselling, they will revert back to crime once they are out,” cautioned Dr Shehzad Hussain Tahir, a psychologist based in the city.
“The closure of jail schools and the government’s empty promises of reopening them or building new ones, is harmful for the development of the children, as they might not be able to live a normal life again,” he added.
Syeda Farah Hashmi, who works for the rights of juvenile offenders, concurring with Dr Tahir, implored the government to take action and reopen the correctional facilities on an urgent basis.
When asked if he saw the urgency in the matter, Inspector-General Prisons, Mian Farooq Nazir, replying in the affirmative, put the onus on the government. “The provincial government needs to establish jail schools, like the ones that existed previously, to help the juvenile incarcerated population,” said Nazir while talking to The Express Tribune.
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