Promulgation of Police Ordinance 2002: expansion in jails to facilitate inmates

Despite introduction of much publicised Police Ordinance 2002, the prisoners were continue to languish in increasingly over crowded jails.
There were 85,465 prisoners in nearly 80 jails of the country where they had to face inhuman treatment because of acute shortage of space in jails.
According to details 52,332 prisoners were detained in 30 jails of Punjab while there was room for only 17,637 prisoners. Against the capacity of 8,836 persons, 19,958 prisoners were booked in 18 jails of Sindh.
Like wise, 10,220 prisoners had been detained in 22 jails while actual capacity was only for 7,711 persons in NWFP. Despite the capacity of 1,818 prisoners, there were 2,955 prisoners detained in 10 jails of Balochistan.
The Senate had been informed, the government was preparing various new schemes for expansion of capacity and construction of new barracks in jails under Access to Justice Programme.
According to further details, the capacity of jails in Punjab would be expanded while new barracks would also be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1050.195 million.
In Sindh, the government was considering to construct new jails at Naushahro feroze while construction of Judicial Complex at Central Prison Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana were also under consideration.
The House was also informed that construction of district jail at Chaman had been approved and extension of central jail buildings at Khuzdar, Mastung and Mach was under consideration.
Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) working on human rights issues were raising their voice against the inhuman treatment in jails.
There were lots of reservations of the provincial governments on Police Order 2002 too, therefore government would soon amend PO 2002 to remove all controversies.
Critics of the Ordinance has felt that police officials had become tyrants in the districts without checks and balances.