The most dreaded prison of Pakistan

Of late, Mach central prison has been caught in the media glare. Notorious “hit-man” Saulat Mirza was brought to Mach in the month of February 2014 on security grounds and since then the jail has been thrust into the limelight.

Mach Jail is one of the most dreaded prisons in the country. It is known by the honorific Kala Pani (black waters) because of its location in a deserted area surrounded by rough and dry mountains and harsh weather conditions. The town is always sleeping, and the tall dry mountains frequently scare even a normal person. One can only imagine the psychological plight of prisoners in that location.

The prison itself is located around 60 kilometres southwest of Quetta Valley. The small town of Mach is 10 to 15 kilometres far from the prison. This huge prison was constructed in 1929 by the British colonial rulers who brought the freedom fighters to this isolated location for the toughest kinds of punishments – far from the public eye.

To this day, inmates continue to be intimidated by the rough weather. The facility is located in one of the coldest places in the winter, with frequent, chilly and blustery winds, and becomes one of the hottest places in the country, with the sun blazing down at cruel angles and mercury rising menacingly. The only reliable route to reach this place is through the rail service of the Mach Town. However, now buses, too, are available for travelling.

The Mach prison is often compared with that horrendous prison of India — the Island of Andaman -- which became infamous for the notorious prison called Cellular Jail. That prison was constructed by the British with a special purpose to incarcerate the Indian freedom activists away from the Indian mainland in order to weaken the revolt against the British Raj. It stands today as the symbol of the dark side of the colonial British Empire. However, now the prison turned into a ‘Memorial of Freedom Fighters’.

Spread over an area of 60 acres, Mach Jail houses 825 prisoners at a time. At least 61 prisoners have so far been executed since 1978 in Mach Prison. The last execution took place in October 2007 in the Central Prison Mach. Saulat is spending his “last days of life” in the area number 11/12 of Mach Jail. However, his execution has now been delayed for month.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 30^th, 2015.