Rights of inmates: A ray of hope emerges for prisoners in Punjab
Govt introduces stringent terms for appointment of non-official visitors.
LAHORE:
An unlikely ray of hope emerged from the opaque and impenetrable walls of prisons across Punjab.
After two years, the Punjab government has issued new criteria for the appointment of ‘non-official visitors’ (NOVs) for jails across the province in a bid to improve the welfare of inmates, sources revealed.
Non-official visitors – appointed to monitor jail authorities and thwart cases of torture, abuse and embezzlement of funds – hadn’t been appointed for the past two years across Punjab’s prisons for reasons still unclear. Interaction between inmates and jails officials went unmonitored, an official requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune.
“Jails officials were free to behave with inmates as they pleased,” the official said.
The prison visiting system aims at increasing monitoring and scrutiny of the system from within, where NOVs act as key change agents and catalysts within the system to ultimately bring about prison reforms and safeguard inmates’ rights.
Sources revealed that the new method for the appointment of these visitors was extremely stringent and the criteria appeared foolproof.
According to the new guidelines, a person holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, law or other social sciences from a recognised university would be appointed as a ‘non-official visitor’.
Furthermore, people holding a bachelor’s degree in medicine, surgery or dentistry, personnel with five years or more experience in medical services in the private sector, applicants with widely acclaimed published work and members of the local chamber of commerce and industry or agriculture body would be eligible for the slot.
Retired civil servants, judicial officers and Muslim clerics would also be considered for the appointment, under the new rules.
According to the rules, a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) with established contributions towards prisoners’ welfare, formal and religious education or skill development as verified by the social welfare department and district coordination officer (DCO) may be considered for the appointment.
The guidelines added that the appointment would be terminated if the NOV fails to undertake the requisite visits or fails to submit regular reports to the home department.
Previously, government appointed retired civil servants and judges as NOVs who more often than not failed to take interest in their jobs as required by the Rule 192 of the Pakistan Prisons Rules (PPR) 1978.
NOVs are supposed to engage in the welfare and betterment of inmates with specific attention to health, diet, clothing, work, sanitation and drinking water. According to the PPR, there should be 10 NOVs in each district jail and 15 in every central jail but no such appointment had been made for the last two years, official sources revealed.
One official simply viewed this as a political move, saying that the ruling party was trying to win votes in the upcoming general elections by implementing these reforms.
Meanwhile, Punjab Prisons Deputy Inspector General Shahid Saleem Baig said the appointment of NOVs would be “beneficial” for the prisoners and the jail staff alike.
“Prisoners could freely discuss all their problems and seek guidance from the non-official visitors,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2011.
An unlikely ray of hope emerged from the opaque and impenetrable walls of prisons across Punjab.
After two years, the Punjab government has issued new criteria for the appointment of ‘non-official visitors’ (NOVs) for jails across the province in a bid to improve the welfare of inmates, sources revealed.
Non-official visitors – appointed to monitor jail authorities and thwart cases of torture, abuse and embezzlement of funds – hadn’t been appointed for the past two years across Punjab’s prisons for reasons still unclear. Interaction between inmates and jails officials went unmonitored, an official requesting anonymity told The Express Tribune.
“Jails officials were free to behave with inmates as they pleased,” the official said.
The prison visiting system aims at increasing monitoring and scrutiny of the system from within, where NOVs act as key change agents and catalysts within the system to ultimately bring about prison reforms and safeguard inmates’ rights.
Sources revealed that the new method for the appointment of these visitors was extremely stringent and the criteria appeared foolproof.
According to the new guidelines, a person holding a bachelor’s degree in psychology, sociology, law or other social sciences from a recognised university would be appointed as a ‘non-official visitor’.
Furthermore, people holding a bachelor’s degree in medicine, surgery or dentistry, personnel with five years or more experience in medical services in the private sector, applicants with widely acclaimed published work and members of the local chamber of commerce and industry or agriculture body would be eligible for the slot.
Retired civil servants, judicial officers and Muslim clerics would also be considered for the appointment, under the new rules.
According to the rules, a registered non-governmental organisation (NGO) with established contributions towards prisoners’ welfare, formal and religious education or skill development as verified by the social welfare department and district coordination officer (DCO) may be considered for the appointment.
The guidelines added that the appointment would be terminated if the NOV fails to undertake the requisite visits or fails to submit regular reports to the home department.
Previously, government appointed retired civil servants and judges as NOVs who more often than not failed to take interest in their jobs as required by the Rule 192 of the Pakistan Prisons Rules (PPR) 1978.
NOVs are supposed to engage in the welfare and betterment of inmates with specific attention to health, diet, clothing, work, sanitation and drinking water. According to the PPR, there should be 10 NOVs in each district jail and 15 in every central jail but no such appointment had been made for the last two years, official sources revealed.
One official simply viewed this as a political move, saying that the ruling party was trying to win votes in the upcoming general elections by implementing these reforms.
Meanwhile, Punjab Prisons Deputy Inspector General Shahid Saleem Baig said the appointment of NOVs would be “beneficial” for the prisoners and the jail staff alike.
“Prisoners could freely discuss all their problems and seek guidance from the non-official visitors,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2011.