President for measures to help women, children in prisons

President Mamnoon Hussain on Tuesday urged concerted and effective measures to ameliorate the condition of women and children in the prisons and noted with appreciation the practical steps taken by the Wafaqi Mohtasib in this regard. The President was addressing an event to provide help for vulnerable children and women in jails, here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr,
The event organised by the Wafaqi Mohtasib was attended by Federal Ombudsman Salman Faruqui and former Chief Justice of Sindh High Court Nasir Aslam Zahid. Provincial Inspector Generals of Prisons also attended the function. The President appreciated that Wafaqi Mohtasib on the directive of Supreme Court of Pakistan had compiled a comprehensive report to improve the plight of women and children in jails. Its implementation would produce positive results by improving the condition of prisons, he hoped.
He said the children in jails could be made an active member of the society by imparting them moral and religious education. Similarly, he said, the women prisoners could also play a positive role in the development of society if they were imparted education and necessary skills. The President said that no government alone could undertake welfare work and welcomed the participation of private institutions and philanthropists for improving the condition of women and child prisoners.
He appreciated that the Federal Ombudsman had constituted a committee co-headed by Ms Asma Jahangir and Mian Muhammad Hanif to formulate a comprehensive strategy to help ameliorate the plight of women and children in prisons. President Mamnoon also commended the business community, philanthropists and institutions, including chambers of commerce and universities, in coming forward on the call of Wafaqi Mohtasib and making their contributions for the betterment of women and child prisoners.
The President called for close cooperation between the government and private institutions on public welfare initiatives to effectively address the issues of public concern. He said welfare of the people should be the first and topmost priority no matter which party was in power. He said Zakat could be best utilised by paying fines for the release of those prisoners, who cannot afford to pay on their own.