LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has vowed that the PTI’s provincial government will take all necessary steps to protect the rights of prisoners in jails across the province.
Chairing a meeting held at his office on Tuesday to review the progress on the implementation of the prison reforms package, he directed the officials concerned to expedite the execution of the package for providing prisoners all facilities denied in the previous regimes.
The meeting was attended by Punjab Minister for Prisons and Colonies Fayyazul Hasan Chohan, SACM Hasaan Khawar, chief secretary, ACS (Home) and administrative secretaries.
Buzdar directed the commencement of the recruitment process without any delay against vacant posts in jails while ensuring merit.
He further said that medical officers should also be recruited for jails’ hospitals whereas the MOs would be given a separate cadre besides the provision of special allowance.
A step-motherly treatment was meted out with the captives in the past but the PTI-led government has given them rights and approved Rs500 million for providing them a balanced diet, he noted.
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The Punjab chief minister further said that the jail foundation’s funds should be utilized for the welfare of the detainees and availability of items ensured at canteens at fixed rates.
Buzdar instructed the participants to devise a feasible mechanism for catering necessary legal aid to inmates of minor penalties for giving them relief. He ordered that the construction of new barracks in jails be expedited and installation of water geysers completed at earliest.
He also recommended to increase the telephone calls’ duration for prisoners and they should be given market-based rates for their work.
A feasible strategy should be devised for arranging prisoners’ meetings with their relatives so that the complaints of extortion could be eradicated, he instructed.
The CM emphasized that no complaint should arise with regard to the provision of necessary items to the detainees.
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He said that a fortnightly meeting would be held to review the progress, adding that the draft of the Prison and Prisoner Act, 2021 would be presented before the provincial cabinet for final approval soon. The draft of Juvenile Justice System Rules, 2021 has also been devised and a prison complex would also be built in Lahore, he maintained.
On this occasion, Provincial Minister for prisons Fayyazul Hasan Chohan appreciated steps taken for the welfare and protection of the rights of prisoners in the tenure of Chief Minister Usman Buzdar along with the welfare of the jail department officials.
The Chief Minister was also briefed by IG Prisons about facilities being provided to the inmates including the facility of watching eight to 40 channels through cable TV.
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The networking of cable TV has been completed in 29 jails along with the repair of 2,889 washrooms and the construction of 250 new toilets in jails, he told the meeting.
He said that prisoners are also allowed to arrange pillows and mattresses from their homes, adding that central jails in Mianwali, Faisalabad and DG Khan were being converted to solar energy and for the project, Rs150 million were earmarked. Additional barracks were being constructed in nine jails and medical camps are held in every jail twice a month, he concluded.
