Officials say decision imposed following TTP commander’s escape from Bannu Central Prison last year. PHOTO: REUTERS
Relatives of hundreds of inmates in and outside Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) are applying for the transfer of their imprisoned loved ones despite a ban on intra and inter-provincial prisoner transfers.
The applications are being moved at a time when the K-P government has already imposed a ban on transferring inmates within K-P and other provinces following Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Adnan Rashid’s escape from Bannu Central Prison during a brazen jail break last year. The decision has irked locals who want their relatives to be brought closer so they can meet them without the trouble of commuting long distances.
Among others, Saleema Bibi*, whose son has been behind bars for around 10 months in Multan, filed an application at the K-P Home and Tribal Affairs department, seeking the transfer of Naeem Khan*, 25, to Peshawar or any other prison closer to home.
Bibi was taken aback after she discovered transfers had been banned. She, however, remained adamant and argued with home department officials to secure her only son’s transfer to another facility. “He is the sole bread winner of our family and has a two-year-old daughter. I have not seen him since the last 12 months and travelling to Multan is beyond my means,” said Bibi. She said if authorities shift him to Peshawar, she and Naeem’s wife will be able to meet him at last.
Naeem was arrested by the Multan police for allegedly carrying opium in his car and was later sentenced for 30 months. He is presently detained at Multan Central Prison.
Officials of the prison section at the home department said Rashid’s escape was not the only reason for the ban. They explained prisons in K-P were out of space and new construction is underway to make more space for additional inmates.
“We receive around 10 applications a week. Abbottabad prison was damaged during the earthquake whereas the Dera and Bannu prisons were badly damaged during the jailbreak assaults. Peshawar’s central prison is also out of space, but construction is underway,” said an official requesting anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media.
The repair and construction work will be completed within a year, he added, but said he was not sure if this will help lift the ban.
On March 6, 2012, the prison cell was sealed and an inquiry was launched when reports surfaced indicating some 80 prisoners – both convicted and facing prosecution – had been illegally shuffled across K-P prisons despite a similar ban imposed by the then home department secretary Muhammad Azam Khan.
*Names have been changed to protect identities
Published in The Express Tribune, November 21st, 2013.
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