LAHORE: Taking notice of alleged use of mobile phones by inmates, supply of drugs and VVIP culture in jails, newly-appointed Provincial Minister for Prisons Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan has sought details of all the Punjab Prisons employees working at the residences of all senior officers of the prisons department.
The minister issued this direction while presiding over a high-level meeting at the Alhamra on Thursday.
Punjab IG Prisons Mirza Shah Saleem Baig along with all DIGs of the prisons department and senior officials of the Punjab Home Department participated in the meeting in which various issues pertaining to inmates and jail staff including recruitment on vacant posts and up-gradation of pay scale package at par with the Punjab police came under discussion.
An official said the minister was briefed in detail regarding facilities being offered to inmates and progress made on mercy petitions filed by them. Speaking on the occasion, the minister categorically directed that no transfer and posting of officers/officials would be made without seeking his prior approval.
Chohan also directed to provide him details of all the senior officers from the rank of assistant superintendent jail (ASJ) to DIG serving in the same area of posting for the last three years. The minister also sought posting chart of the Punjab Prisons along with details of contracts.
"By keeping in view contemporary needs, the Punjab government is bringing (relevant) amendments to The Prisons Act, 1894, and The Prisons Act, 1900. Progress of officers and officials will be reviewed at the start of every month," he told the meeting, adding that his sole objective is to bring reforms in the prisons department.
When contacted, sources in both the Punjab Prisons and the home department have fully agreed to the impression that Fayyaz Chohan was appointed by Prime Minister Imran Khan to give a "tough-time" to incarcerated PML-N President and Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shahbaz (Punjab's opposition leader).
"Its 100 percent correct that Fayyaz Chohan was appointed to target the PML-N's incarcerated leaders rather than bringing reforms," reliable sources in the Punjab Prisons claimed, adding that reforms cannot be initiated without breaking the status-quo.
In the past, the sources deplored that many ministers like Chohan had come and vowed to introduce reforms but the Punjab Prisons department remained the most neglected branch of the criminal justice system which include police, judiciary, prosecution and home department.
"Isn't it surprising that around 3,000 employees of the Punjab Prisons have left their jobs in the past due to lack of well-defined service structure, promotion criterion and meagre salary package? Of them, 260 were well-educated assistant superintendent jails (ASJs) who had been recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC)," the sources lamented.
Among other issues, retaining existing strength of the Punjab Prisons employees would be one of the most challenging tasks for the minister if he fails to seriously look into this particular matter and resolve it amicably, the sources added.
Later in the day, Fayyaz-ul-Hassan in a statement denied reports that PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif is experiencing health issues saying that "such news was not more than point scoring". "Shahbaz Sharif and Hamza are being provided every facility in jail as per law. Both the accused are being provided transport facility as per court order. The N-League is making false propaganda to get sympathy of people," added the minister.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020