Families reconnect with Adiala inmates

Rawalpindi Central Jail reopens for public meetings after 16-day ban

RAWALPINDI:

The administration of Rawalpindi Central Jail, better known as Adiala jail, on Thursday suddenly lifted the ban on public meetings after 16 days, allowing families and relatives to see inmates and share food and other items in routine.

The visiting branch was opened for visitors who thronged the jail by hundreds. There are 7,840 prisoners in the central jail. Initially imposed due to security concerns, the ban was lifted after 16 days despite being initially intended for 14 days.

Despite the ban, lawyers and families of PTI founder Imran Khan and Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi resumed meetings on the third day as permitted by the Islamabad High Court. However, meetings for families of ordinary prisoners were completely halted and the visiting premises, including the meeting branch, hall, and shed, were sealed off.

Read more: Ban on Adiala meetings ends

The ban triggered a shortage of food, vegetables, fruits, toiletries, tea, cigarettes, and beverages, with fasting prisoners encountering difficulties during iftar and sehri. Inmates kept buying food and items at inflated prices from the jail’s canteen. Due to the absence of meetings, the prisoners also ran out of money for daily expenses, resorting to taking items on credit from the jail canteen.

Despite protests by prisoners in Rawalpindi courts and Bakshi Khanas, the ban remained in place until March 27, prompting a surge of residents to visit their incarcerated loved ones.

Families across the Rawalpindi division are again set to visit Adiala Jail in large numbers today, bringing Eidul Fitr clothes, new shoes, and supplies for iftar and sehri, which will be distributed to the prisoners from Friday onwards.

The jail administration has extended meeting times from 8am to 4pm, with each meeting lasting for 40 minutes and accommodating 150 to 200 visitors at a time.

Daily meetings will be organised in four to five groups, with additional counters set up for Eid and sehri supplies. Except on Sundays, the meetings will be held daily until Eid. Families can provide special food to their loved ones from 11am to 1pm on Eid day, although no meetings will take place on that day.

Citizens Feroze, Ahmed, Rashid and Qayyum, who visited the jail to meet their loved ones, have welcomed the lifting of the ban.

Two weeks ago, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and police on a tip-off foiled an attack near Adiala jail by conducting a joint operation as well as arrested highly-trained terrorists.

The terrorists were planning to target important facilities including Adiala jail. Besides, two threatening calls were made to the official phone numbers of the prison.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 29^th, 2024.