The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, has decided in principle to change the diet menu of prisons across the province in order to ensure provision of quality food to prison inmates and has directed necessary steps to increase the annual budget of prisons in the head of food from Rs1.5 billion to Rs2billion.
He also gave his consent to the proposed measures to improve security arrangements at the sensitive central jails of the province and assured that the provincial government would provide necessary support in that regard.
He ordered that the province’s Deputy Commissioners would be responsible for carrying out regular quality inspections of food items being served to inmates at the prisons in their respective districts.
The Chief Minister also consented to the provision of free legal aid for prisoners who couldn’t afford to hire lawyers to pursue their cases and directed that the services of competent lawyers be obtained for the purpose. Expenses incurred on such services, he said, would be borne by the provincial government.
He was presiding over a meeting of the Prisons Department held here on Sunday. Home Additional Chief Secretary Muhammad Abid Majeed, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amjad Ali Khan, Inspector General (IG) Prisons Muhammad Usman Mehsud and others attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister also emphasized the need to accelerate work on the priority development projects being executed in the various prisons of the province and directed the finance department to provide funds required for the purpose.
He also made the decision to provide Rs1 billion to meet previous liabilities under various expenditures including food items, medicines and maintenance and repair works. Gandapur also agreed to make circle and region wise recruitments. However, he directed that staffing at prisons be done purely on the basis of domicile. Expressing his satisfaction over the reforms so far introduced by the department, he lauded skill development training being imparted to jail inmates as a commendable initiative.
The Chief Minister also ordered the preparation of a formal plan for the branding and marketing of products made by prisoners and the establishment of a proper showroom.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2024.
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