Petition challenges ban on prisoners' education

A writ petition has been filed in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) challenging the provincial government's decision to bar prisoners convicted in narcotics cases from pursuing education.

The petition has named the government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa through the Chief Secretary, the Advocate General, and the Inspector General of Prisons, among others, as respondents.

The petition was filed by Advocate Fawad Afzal Safi on behalf of a prisoner, Aizaz Wali, who is serving a life sentence in a narcotics case at Peshawar Central Jail. According to the petitioner, Wali had been continuing his studies and had appeared in examinations, but on August 29, the Inspector General of Prisons issued a notification imposing new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These SOPs prohibited prisoners convicted in narcotics cases from pursuing education or sitting for examinations, declaring that such inmates could not seek remission through academic progress.

The petitioner argued that education is a fundamental constitutional right, even for inmates, and the IG Prisons has no discretionary authority to deny prisoners access to education. The court has been requested to declare the August 29 notification illegal, unconstitutional, and void.