Though nearly 260 well-educated Assistant Superintendent Jails (ASJs) recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) have left their jobs in the past due to lack of promotions and allowances, many senior officers of the Punjab Prisons are considering to quit their jobs as their current salary package is very much low as compared to other important pillars of the criminal justice system.
Officials familiar with the development told Business Recorder that there are five pillars of the criminal justice system in Pakistan which include police, judiciary, prisons, prosecution, probation and parole. "Nevertheless being one of the important pillars, the Punjab Prisons remained the most neglected department as the salaries of its all senior officers (from grade-17 to above) are too low as compared to officers working in other departments in the same grades," they regretted.
"On average, an official performs 12-14 hours duty daily and there are no weekends, gazetted and Eid holidays as per the rules and regulations. Since we have to take rehabilitation and correction measures for desperate and hardened criminals and terrorists "empty handed", our lives are on constant risk," the officials explained.
They said the salary of a deputy superintendent jail (DSJ), grade-17 officer, is significantly low from the salaries of police, judiciary, district administration and civil secretariat employees. The basic salary of a DSP, civil judge, section officer of the civil secretariat and an assistant commissioner is Rs39,570 and they all are grade-17 officers. But after the addition of allowances, their salaries have multiplied, they added. "Jails are rehabilitation places for criminals and we are considered reformers to turn them into a 'better person'. But how can we do so in these circumstances? We need reforms for ourselves first. We have families to feed. We are in a miserable condition and no one is paying heed to our grievances," an official said, adding that many jail officials are allegedly involved in corrupt practices to "support their families".
"Due to this choking situation, we have two options - either to resign from our jobs or to continue massive corruption," the official said. They had taken up this matter with the Additional Chief Secretary Home and the Punjab government, but to no avail, he added. According to a letter written to the ACS Home by the jail officials, a section officer is the highly paid employee as he/she gets Rs148,452 after the inclusion of all allowances, followed by a civil judge with Rs134,202, an assistant commissioner with Rs133,152, a DSP with Rs102,567 while a deputy superintendent jail gets only Rs71,092.
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