Overcrowded prisons

Prisons are supposed to serve as rehabilitation centres rather than cramped, filthy and neglected cages where the inmates are stuffed like birds and animals. Unfortunately, prisons across Pakistan are no more than such dungeons. According to a recent report titled 'Pakistan's Prison Landscape: Trends, Data, and Developments in 2024', prisons across the country are housing 152 per cent of their authorised capacity – which means if the prisons can accommodate 100 inmates, they have been packed with 152. The situation is far worse in some of the prisons that have been fed with 200 to 300 per cent of their official capacity. In terms of actual numbers, 102,026, prisoners are housed in 128 operational facilities in the four provinces as well as AJK and GB.

Massive delays in disposal of cases has a direct bearing on overcrowding. It's mind-boggling that three-quarters of the total inmates are either awaiting or undergoing trial, says the report prepared by the National Commission for Human Rights, the National Academy of Prison Administration, and Justice Project Pakistan. There are too many other challenges too, according to the report, including: insufficient access to clean water and nutritious food, inadequate healthcare facilities, exploitative labour practices, limited contact with family and legal counsel and a lack of an effective complaint mechanism.

Since overcrowding is a major root cause of too many problems facing the inmates, there is need to work on this particular aspect under comprehensive judicial reforms. Overcrowding in prisons can be dealt with through measures, like: adoption of non-custodial sentencing options for minor offences; operationalisation of parole and probation system; shifting persons with psychosocial disabilities to mental health facilities; and treating individuals charged with drug-related offences rather than keeping them behind bars. Remember, prisons should serve as places for the inmates to turn their lives.