No doctor for inmates in 10 Balochistan prisons
59-year old death row inmate died of a heart attack in the Adiala Jail on Saturday. PHOTO: REUTERS
In Balochistan, there is no doctor for around 3,000 inmates in ten out of the twelve prisons in the province. Lack of doctors and medicines inside the prisons has compounded the problems of the inmates, some of which have been languishing in these jails for years.
Ironically, the authorities have reduced the budget allocated for buying medicines for inmates from Rs6 million to Rs3 million in the past few years, some official sources told The Express Tribune, while requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
However, the prison department officials did not verify the piece of information.
There are four central and eight district jails in Balochistan, where more than 3,000 people are imprisoned. According to sources, there are no doctors in ten of these jails, including the largest jail of the province, Central Jail Mach.
Recently, Balochistan High Court (BHC) Chief Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan had expressed displeasure over lack of doctors at the Mach jail and ordered authorities to immediately appoint one.
At these jails, paramedics perform duties of doctors which often result in complications. According to the Balochistan government, currently seven posts of doctors and two posts of lady medical officers (LMOs) are lying vacant in the prisons.
Unavailability of medical staff and shortage of medicines have become a serious problem at these prisons. Till 2020, the prison department was receiving medicines worth Rs6 million per annum from the provincial government.
However, despite the increase in the number of prisoners and hike in the prices of medicines, the provincial government has reduced the funds given to the jail department for medicines by almost 50 per cent.
Quetta Jail, which houses 1,100 prisoners, is being supplied with medicines worth Rs6 lakh annually. Despite the orders of the BHC to provide medical facilities in jails, the government is yet to improve healthcare in prisons.
A summary for appointing doctors at these ten prisons and increasing the quota for medicines to Rs15 million has been sent to the department of home and health, the sources added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 17th, 2023.