Tied by blood money: 62 prisoners sit in jail even after completing sentence

Unable to afford fines imposed as part of court-mandated punishment, many men remain incarcerated till they pay up

PESHAWAR:

As many as 62 prisoners charged for various crimes are being kept in prisons across the province even though they have served their jail sentences as they cannot afford to pay the fine imposed as part of their punishment.

According to the prisons department data available with The Express Tribune, there are 15 such prisoners in Bannu Central Prison, nine in Peshawar Central Prison, 31 in Haripur Central Prison and seven in Mansehra Central Prison.

No money, no freedom

Most of these prisoners are from the lower income group and cannot afford to pay a fine of even a few thousand rupees, let alone several hundred thousand. Some of their prison sentences will be increased by the court to adjust for the fine they cannot pay.



However, 76-year-old Wali Khan will remain imprisoned till he pays up; this is what the court decided.

Wali remains detained at Bannu Central Prison, even though under an amendment to the relevant law in 2003, any person above the age of 60 should be set free. Unable to pay Rs360,209 as diyat (blood money), he bides his time behind bars.

Adnan, a resident of Bannu, has to pay an even larger amount—Rs724,859 in arsh which is an Islamic fine paid by an offender to the injured victim. As per the court’s ruling, Adnan will also be kept in jail till he pays the amount.

At 55, Younas Khan, a resident of Peshawar, will remain jailed under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code till he can pay Rs350,000 as diyat. Until he clears that, he will not be released even if his prison term ends.

Seeking assistance

Inspector General Prisons Kifayatullah told The Express Tribune the department had decided to collect data on such prisoners, so some sort of assistance can be provided to them in paying off their fines.

“We have contacted Baitul Mal, Zakat and Ushr department, NGOs working for human rights and even the president of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” said Kifayatullah. He hoped these departments and organisations will come to the aid of prisoners, however, no progress had been made on the matter yet.

Kifayatullah urged affluent people to come forward and help such inmates for charity.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2014.