LAHORE: Punjab Senior Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has said that many senior political leaders and government officers have gone to different jails but the present situation of prisons as well as inmates is still deplorable and reforms are needed on war footings.
The minister said this while presiding over a high-level meeting of the prisons department on Tuesday. Prominent among the participants of the meeting were Provincial Minister for Prisons Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan, Special Secretary Home, DIG Prisons and officers from the planning & development department (P&D). The meeting discussed in detail the present situation of prisons, possible reforms and various issues related to their respective areas.
Addressing the participants, the senior minister said that provision of basic necessities of life to inmates in all circumstances is a must. He added that it was inhumane to have more inmates in barracks than the available capacity and there was a need to build new double-storey barracks in different jails to increase the capacity.
He directed that funds allocated for the welfare of prisoners and jail staff must be used properly, adding that prisons and other concerned departments would have to take concerted action for which the next review meeting would be held next week at Kot Lakhpat Jail to review the situation on the spot. "Keeping in view the existing requirements, private business entrepreneurs should be involved in better marketing of the products manufactured by the inmates so that they can get the best compensation for their labour," he said, adding that Abdul Aleem Khan Foundation is carrying out welfare measures for the inmates in five jails.
He told the meeting that the Punjab government has, so far, established model barracks at Sheikhupura, Kasur, Multan and Kot Lakhpat jails by upgrading basic facilities including washrooms besides providing significant relief to the inmates. "We will have to focus on the welfare and betterment of the inmates as well as the jail authorities so that they can perform their duties in a better way," added Aleem.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020