Pakistan Day was celebrated with national spirit and usual enthusiasm in Sialkot and other parts of the Sialkot district on Wednesday. The daylong programmes started with special prayers for unity, solidarity and prosperity of the country and for early liberation of the Indian Occupied Kashmir in all mosques of the city. On this occasion, a special function was held in district jail for celebrating the Pakistan Day.
Tehsil Nazim Sialkot Muhammad Akmal Cheema was chief guest on the occasion. Addressing the citizens and prisoners, the Tehsil Nazim Sialkot said adequate efforts would be made for resolving the problems of district jail on top priority basis.
He said it was heartening to note that district jail management had adopted a rational approach for providing religious education and computer training to the inmates aimed at making them useful citizens of the society.
Muhammad Akmal Cheema stressed upon the inmates they should avail the opportunities of training as well as imbibe Qur'an from the core of the heart adding the prisoners would be able to get employment after their release from the jail.
The present regime had focused special attention on developing crime free society in the country, he said. Ajmal Cheema called upon the inmates they should refrain from indulging bad society after their release from the jail and work for the development and betterment of the country.
In his address of welcome, the Superintendent district jail Muhammad Yousaf Ghouri said all means and resources were being mobilised for making the inmates a useful citizens of the society.
The provision of religious education was top on the agenda and for this purpose necessary arrangements had been made, he said. Special attention, he said, had been focused on providing maximum recreation and sports facilities to the inmates. On this occasion sweets and food was distributed among the jail inmates.
EXCESSIVE PRISIONERS IN JAIL: As many as 2700 prisoners are housed in Sialkot district jail against the capacity of only 600 inmates. A spokesman of Sialkot district jail told Business Recorder here on Wednesday that excess of prisoners was due to non-availability of jail in Narowal district. The spokesman revealed that 23 female and 67 children of blow 18 year were in the jail due to involvement in various crimes.
There are 11 barracks in the jail and each barrack had the capacity of accommodating 160 prisoners but keeping in view the overloading more prisoners were accommodating in each barrack of district jail Sialkot. However, a separate barrack had been constructed in recent past for the women prisoners in the jail, the spokesman revealed. The computer training was being imparted to the interested inmates and at present 10 prisoners had completed their computer training, the spokesman added.